MAM
Hyundai joins forces with BBC Future for more sustainable world
Mumbai: South Korean automotive major The Hyundai Motor Company will be the exclusive sponsor of BBC Future Planet throughout the month of August. With the sponsorship, the carmaker aims to reach global audiences looking to create a more sustainable world. Launched in February 2020, BBC Future Planet is an online publication with a sole focus on climate change.
As part of the sponsorship, BBC StoryWorks – the commercial content studio of BBC Global News – created a documentary-style film highlighting Hyundai’s partnership with the ocean conservation organisation, Healthy Seas, to combat ocean pollution, nurture sustainable marine ecosystems, and support a circular economy. The film tells the story of how an abandoned fish farm on the coast of Greek island, Ithaca, has now become the solution to Hyundai’s sustainable car interiors.
Hyundai Motor – Europe, president and CEO, Michael Cole said that beyond providing zero-emission mobility solutions on land, the company also cares about protecting fragile ecosystems at sea and that is why they have partnered with Healthy Seas throughout this project. “With the BBC we were able to win an important partner to tell our story. Together, we have successfully overcome the tremendous logistical challenges to make this vision become a reality,” Cole added.
As cleaning up and preventing marine pollution aligns with Hyundai’s global strategy, the branded content was produced sustainably, by driving electrified vehicles from London to Greece instead of flying, choosing to consume vegan meals, and using solar power to charge equipment, the company said in a statement.
“Sustainable brands looking to communicate their green practices have long been commercial partners of BBC Global News due to our relevant and engaging content, our global and affluent audience, and our own commitment to being carbon neutral,” said BBC Global News, EVP of international ad sales, Sean O’Hara. “Since the launch of BBC Future Planet, we have consistently offered audiences immersive, solutions-based content, and traffic to the site has increased exponentially over the past 12 months. We’re pleased brands like Hyundai want to be part of this success; to stay top-of-mind, and for the BBC’s expert storytellers to help them engage with audiences through creative and emotive brand campaigns.”
BBC Global News, acting regional director of ad sales – Europe and Eurasia, Sibel Boner added, “We are excited to enter this commercial partnership with Hyundai, to communicate their story around the Healthy Seas project, a reflection of the trust and expertise the BBC has in producing immersive, engaging content that reaches global audiences.”
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
