Italy's trucker protests halt buffalo mozzarella production, cost producers €3m

Business brings us Charlotte Lamb here to the studio. Great to see you, Charlotte, as always. Across Europe, there's been protests. The governments are facing growing pressure over living costs and public finances. Today, though, we're focusing on Italy, where a fuel price protest is turning into a supply chain problem, especially if you love cheese. Charlotte, tell us more. That's exactly right. We're heading south to Naples, where the scenes are very different from those we saw in Milan earlier this week. Truck drivers have been blocking key roads and disrupting access to refineries and distribution centres in protest at soaring diesel prices. These blockades have disrupted deliveries of food and fuel as well as supplies to hospitals, leaving some supermarket shelves and petrol pumps empty. The impact is especially sharp for Italy's buffalo mozzarella industry. With finished cheeses unable to reach customers, producers estimate those losses are around 3 million euros in just 24 hours. For more, here's Jack Pownall. Gaps on the shelves, where deliveries should be. Here in Naples, a protest over soaring diesel prices has left supermarkets, petrol stations and businesses struggling to keep supplies moving. Truck drivers have been blocking roads, disrupting deliveries across southern Italy. At the heart of their anger, the cost of keeping their vehicles moving. Average diesel pump prices have climbed from around €1.70 a litre in February to around €2.25 in October. an increase of roughly a third as the U.S. war in Iran drives up fuel costs. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has warned such blockades could bring criminal penalties, including prison. But opposition politicians accuse the government of treating people fighting for their livelihoods as criminals. First of all, I want to say something directly to the prime minister. There are no criminals here. This is a protest by people who are asserting their legitimate right to work, and it's indecent to attack it and smear them with such a vile accusation. Authorities have organised police escorts to get essential supplies through and disruption is beginning to ease. Several truckers have suspended their protests. Representatives in Sicily say roadblocks will be lifted. But opening up the roads does not necessarily mean ending demonstrations. The blockade has been cleared but we are continuing our protest to stand up for our rights. We are still here. We hope many people, many farmers will join us. We aren't stopping. are pressing on with the protest. It's not just about the high cost of diesel. Farmers and transporters are facing a range of other difficulties. Rome has now approved a new package of tax relief, bringing support for hauliers and farmers to a combined 540 million euros in tax credits, up from 434 million. The immediate task is to get deliveries moving again. The harder task? Persuading drivers they can afford to stay on the road. In other business news, British bank Barclays announced Thursday plans to cut around 5,000 jobs, that's roughly 5% of its global workforce. The cuts come as the bank reported third quarter profits attributed to shareholders of 1.65 billion pounds, up 13% year on year. Barclays says around 1,000 roles have already been slashed with the remaining reductions expected by the end of the year. The bank says about 60% of those jobs losses will be affected. they will be affecting support functions, including developers. It describes the move as organizational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI. While staying on AI and the tension around those jobs, chip giant NVIDIA's chief executive in Berlin has once again called for responsible optimism. Tell the young people, go to school. AI is going to create future jobs for you. Technology should enhance or lift our ambition, not just give us more free time. I think everybody has always thought about precisely wrong. Productivity of technology is the opposite. That's the reason why every single time we invented new technology, the economy got bigger. And frankly, we got busier. But it's a message that comes amid sharp drops for stocks in the artificial intelligence industry Thursday dragging down markets worldwide as investors question whether heavy spending on chips and data centers can deliver returns fast enough so let's take a quick look at those markets before we go and in the U.S. Nasdaq slumped almost three percent as Meta shares lost roughly six percent following the company's quarterly earnings report the S&P 500 not far off but oil prices climbed to a five-month high as Houthi attacks stoke supply fears And here in the EU, stock markets closed lower Thursday, pressured by ongoing concerns over French debt and broader regional economic caution. Paris at 1.42.