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Export demand for British-made cars has collapsed as UK factory output slumped again in recent weeks.

Despite lockdowns ending, latest figures show that little more than 1,000 cars a day have been rolling off British production lines, when not so long ago average annual volumes 4,500 a day.

Industry data showed a 27 per cent year-on-year drop in production in August down to 37,000, putting the country on course for its worst annual performance, of below a million, in decades. Production levels in recent months have been at 1950s levels before the take-off in the 1960s of mass-market Mini, Vauxhall and Ford models from British plants.

Worse, the detailed figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed that while cars for the domestic market stayed steady year-on-year, vehicles for export slumped by 32 per cent.

Exports to trading partners that traditionally have loved Britain’s output of Mini, Range Rover, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Aston Martin cars have collapsed. Exports to America are down by 65 per cent and to China by 58 per cent. Sales to Australian buyers have evaporated by 75 per cent.

“While not the only factor at play, the impact of the semiconductor shortage on manufacturing cannot be overstated. Carmakers and their suppliers are battling to keep production lines rolling, with constraints expected to continue well into 2022 and possibly beyond,” Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said. “Job support schemes such as furlough have proven such a lifeline to automotive businesses, yet its cessation today comes at the worst time, with the industry still facing Covid-related stoppages which are damaging the sector and threatening the supply chain in particular. Other countries have extended their support; we need the UK to do likewise.”

Read more:
Car exports slump with production at 1950s levels

Rishi Sunak’s decision to wind up the furlough scheme today will intensify Britain’s economic woes, an array of unions, business groups, employment experts, City firms and politicians have warned.

With signs of activity slowing even before pressures on supply chains began to mount over the past few weeks, the chancellor was criticised for cutting off a wage-subsidy lifeline that is still supporting well over a million jobs.

Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, said the end of the furlough scheme coupled with the £20 a week cut in universal credit next week meant the government was heading into the winter with no plan to protect workers.

“Ministers should rethink the end of furlough. Many workers in hard hit industries are still furloughed and need support for longer. Otherwise, we may see a rise in unemployment,” O’Grady said.

Business leaders warned of an “autumn storm” from the government dismantling emergency pandemic support schemes at a time when the economic recovery from Covid-19 was faltering.

The coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was launched by Sunak on 20 March last year, after consultation with unions and bosses, covering 80% of a furloughed employee’s wages, up to £2,500 a month.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said the end of the furlough scheme, the scrapping of the small employer sick pay rebate, and the closure of the government’s apprenticeship incentive scheme would add to pressure on companies.

Mike Cherry, the FSB’s national chair, said: “It’s potentially a dangerous moment. As the weather turns colder, so too will the operating environment for many firms. With recent economic growth numbers having fallen below expectations, the upcoming festive season may not provide as much of a boost as hoped to many small businesses’ bottom lines.”

The government has spent around £70bn to support the wages of more than 11.6m jobs over the past 18 months, and Sunak is hopeful that a record stock of more than a million job vacancies will absorb workers coming off furlough.

However, employment experts warned this was unlikely because of mismatches between vacancies and where most workers were furloughed. One of the UK’s biggest recruitment firms said the end of furlough was unlikely to help firms address chronic staff shortages in some sectors of the economy.

Niki Turner-Harding, senior vice-president of Adecco UK & Ireland, said: “The end of the furlough scheme won’t turn the tables when it comes to the candidate-led environment that jobseekers are experiencing right now. Not least because those employees still furloughed work in industries most affected by the current situation, such as the travel industry.”

As many as 1.6 million workers remained on furlough at the end of July according to the latest official figures from HMRC, representing about 5% of the overall workforce. However, large numbers of workers in sectors of the economy hardest-hit by Covid-19 are still receiving emergency wage support from the state, with fears the end of the scheme will drive up unemployment.

Usage of the scheme peaked at almost 9 million in May 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic, and at about 5.1 million during the winter lockdown earlier this year. However, the rate of workers returning to their jobs has slowed steadily in recent months despite the reopening of the economy, as certain sectors remain under intense pressure.

More than half (51%) of all air passenger transport workers in Britain were still on furlough at the end of July, the highest of any industry. More than a quarter of travel agents and tour operators are in the same position, in a stark contrast to the 5% average for all sectors.

Christine Jardine, Treasury spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, warned Thursday’s sudden stop could trigger an economic crisis akin to Black Wednesday in 1992 when Britain crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. Jardine said Sunak risked a “coronavirus Black Thursday” unless he prolonged the furlough to the 10 most affected sectors.

The chancellor insisted now was the right time to close the scheme and encouraged companies to make use of other government support measures, including the super-deduction tax break and kickstart job creation scheme.

“I am immensely proud of the furlough scheme, and even more proud of UK workers and businesses whose resolve has seen us through an immensely difficult time. With the recovery well under way, and more than 1 million job vacancies, now is the right time for the scheme to draw to a close,” he said.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at the wealth management firm, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Any hope that the end of the furlough scheme might be the magic wand to solve the supply chain crisis is likely to be wishful thinking.”

Read more:
Ditching furlough scheme will add to UK’s economic woes, warn unions and firms

Airline, shipping and trucking bosses have joined union leaders in calling for governments around the world to ease coronavirus restrictions on transport workers to help avoid a Christmas supply chain crisis.

Industry representatives from around the world issued a joint call on Wednesday for coordinated action from national governments to simplify border restrictions.

The cost of transporting goods across the world had become almost negligible in recent decades, but the pandemic disruption to factories, shipping and customer demand has caused chronic delays to cross-border deliveries and led to record shipping container prices.

Willie Walsh, the former boss of British Airways, who now serves as director general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata), called for government restrictions to be eased to avoid disruption during Christmas and warned that further transport cost increases were likely.

“There is definitely a risk,” said Walsh. “What we’re facing is a crisis from restrictions, not from the virus itself.

“Demand is very high, but supply is very disrupted. Without question there is a risk of disruption as demand rises.”

Iata was joined by the International Chamber of Shipping, International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation in arguing that reducing and harmonising restrictions such as vaccine paperwork and testing requirements for transport workers could help ease the pressure at Christmas. The huge variation in restrictions between neighbouring countries causes delays and contradicts scientific advice, they said.

Shipping routes are particularly strained between the US and China, the two largest economies in the world, while air cargo in the broader Asia-Pacific region has also been hit hard by travel restrictions.

In the UK the lack of qualified lorry drivers has added to a fuel crisis. The UK government on Wednesday deployed its reserve tanker fleet to try to keep petrol stations supplied around the country, amid shortages that led to panic buying.

Umberto de Pretto, the IRU’s secretary general, said there would “absolutely” be problems at Christmas, as companies are already facing problems with their transport plans for the period which is crucial for retailers and producers of consumer goods, food and drink.

“There will be disruption, there will be issues, because no one is addressing the problems,” he said. “How can you drive the recovery without drivers?”

Iata’s Walsh said continued travel restrictions were “unnecessary, completely out of proportion to the risk that is faced”, citing the 36 questions on the UK’s passenger locator form. “I doubt anybody is reading the answer to those questions,” he said.

The lobby groups and unions said the World Health Organization should prioritise transport workers for Covid-19 vaccinations. However, they said they were against mandatory vaccines for workers for now because of unequal access to vaccines in different countries.

Chicago-based United Airlines on Wednesday said it will fire 600 workers who have not taken mandatory vaccines, but the policy is thought to be unlikely to be introduced in some countries such as the UK.

Read more:
Transport bosses call on governments across world to ease Covid restrictions

A new story mode trailer for the giant monster brawler GigaBash was revealed as a part of Tokyo Games Show 2021. The destructive title, which is heavily inspired by the kaiju genre of films and video games, comes from Malaysia-based indie developer Passion Republic Games. GigaBash has been compared to Super Smash Bros. and Pacific Rim, with up to four players controlling unique giant monsters and duking it out across highly destructible levels.

The playable roster featured in GigaBash is quite diverse, pulling from popular kaiju franchises such as Godzilla, Gamera and Ultraman. Players can choose from gigantic robot warriors, a massive plant creature, an adorably destructive yeti, a horned rock kaiju and more. Players use their kaiju’s unique moveset to clobber their gigantic adversaries, with each powerful attack also dealing inevitable damage to the surrounding environment. GigaBash appears to act as a spiritual successor to other giant monster brawlers of the past, many of them involving Godzilla and his cast of supporting characters, but Super Smash Bros. has also been a frequent comparison.

Related: Smash Bros Ultimate DLC Character Leak Gains Validity After Direct

The latest trailer for GigaBash, shown at Tokyo Games Show 2021 by Passion Republic Games, gives a closer look at the title’s story mode. The narrative portion of the game will consist of four distinct campaigns, each one starring a specific kaiju. The lumbering Gorogong, the long-range devastator Pipijuras, the playful yeti Woolley and the robotic warrior Thundatross will all star in their own separate campaigns. The narrative-driven single-player experience will include hand-crafted scenarios, which add variety to GigaBash‘s usual four-player brawls by changing objectives and adversaries.

Watch the story mode trailer for GigaBash here.

While officially-licensed kaiju games do exist, many independent developers also strive to capture the giant monster experience themselves. Excidio The Kaiju Game is a Godzilla-inspired title which allows players to rampage through an unsuspecting city, with realistic physics immersing players in the destruction. As Excidio, gamers can use classic kaiju powers such as fire breath or tail swipes to lay waste to the city and its defenseless inhabitants. The title is still under development, with its creator continuing to work on assets and gameplay.

GigaBash appears to be a perfect love letter to classic monster brawlers such as War of the Monsters and Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee. Players can choose from a colorful collection of monsters, each representing typical archetypes of the kaiju genre like robots and plant monsters. The game’s hectic four-player multiplayer brawls also seem quite reminiscent of Super Smash Bros., so fans of that series may find a familiar itch being scratched. The inclusion of four dedicated narrative campaigns is also quite surprising, and the single-player experience will hopefully add variety to GigaBash while also building upon the game’s world and lore.

Next: Why Godzilla Video Games Are So Hard To Get Right

GigaBash will release in early 2022 on PS4 and PC.

Source: Passion Republic Games/YouTube

What is it with roguelikes and their punishing gameplay that makes them feel like a constant uphill struggle? Don’t get us wrong, the permadeath progression of roguelikes conjures some riveting moments, but wouldn’t it be great if the genre was a bit more empowering? If, say, you could control the Devil himself and manipulate the very fabric of the game in your favour?

Well, it’s funny you should ask, because right around the corner is Rogue Lords – a game that’s learned from some of the best roguelikes out there, while adding a devilish twist on the genre that we haven’t quite seen before.

And we’re not just talking about the fact that you literally play the Devil here, enlisting the help of nine Disciples who include Count Dracula, Lilith the Succubus, the Headless Horseman, and other unholy literary creations to take back the world from those infernal Demon Hunters.

No, the real devil is, as ever, in the detail.

Rogue Lords lets you cheat your way to victory, manipulating the turn-based battlefield and the very UI of the game to give you every advantage possible. Spend a bit of your health, and an underworld of devious possibilities opens up before you.

For instance, if an enemy hits you with a debuff in battle, you can spend some Essence to send it right back to one of their team (likewise, if they’ve activated a buff that you like the look of, you can steal it for your anti-heroes). Manipulate the health of allies and enemies, recharge skills without spending action points, and embrace the rules by breaking the rules.

In a genre where failure and a forced restart often occur by the finest and most frustrating of margins, this mechanic makes the game that bit more cunning. Besides, how often can you cheat and not feel like a terrible human being for it? You’re the Devil here, it’s what you do!

You pick three heroes at the start of each run, during which you not only do battle against demon hunters and other do-gooders, but traverse a nocturnal world that will present you with all kinds of weapon upgrades and interesting events. When you stumble upon an executioner who’s too nice to do his job, do you execute him, curse his axe, or teach him some cruelty?

Each event has a certain probability of success, but if you don’t like the odds then a little diabolical dallying will swing them in your favour (at the cost of your precious essence, of course).

Rogue Lords has a style and flow that will be familiar to fans of Darkest Dungeon and Slay the Spire, but its beautifully drawn Burton-esque world oozes with its own spooky charms and unique mechanics. 

Beyond the shameless promotion of cheating, one of the standout features is that when one of your heroes runs out of health, they can actually keep fighting, but each hit they take will come out of your own Essence. It’s a great way to keep battles lively and balanced, stripping away that sinking feeling of inevitable defeat you get when you’re down to your last hero (looking at you, Darkest Dungeon).

Run out of Essence however, and your reign of terror ends… until the next run.

Rogue Lords is out now on Steam and Epic Games Store, just in time for the annual spooky season as Jack-o-Lanterns start to leer at you from between bare trees and dormant forces stir in the cold earth. Help evil reclaim its throne in Rogue Lords this Fall, and join the game’s impious procession on Facebook, Twitter and Discord.