US court finds mass dismissals illegal
A US court has ruled that the mass dismissals of probationary employees by the Trump administration were probably unlawful. Judge William Alsup found that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had no authority to dismiss employees from other agencies. The decision could have far-reaching implications for some 200,000 probationary employees in the federal service, many of whom are in their first two years on the job. The judge issued a temporary restraining order temporarily halting OPM's orders to terminate employees. The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of unions and nonprofit organizations that argued that the OPM acted unlawfully by misrepresenting employees as underperforming.
Instagram $META (-1,17 %) plans Reels app
Instagram is reportedly considering launching its short video feature Reels as a standalone app. This consideration comes amid uncertainty over the future of TikTok in the US. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, informed employees of this possible move. TikTok is under pressure to comply with new legal requirements that could see it forced to sell or be banned. Meta, Instagram's parent company, has not yet responded to an inquiry from the BBC.
Eli Lilly $LLY (-5,26 %) invests in US production
Eli Lilly announced that the company will invest USD 50 billion in the construction of three new production facilities in the USA. This initiative is aimed at producing key raw materials for drugs in the US, most of which currently come from abroad. Lilly plans to spend $27 billion to build four new facilities, including those that will produce active pharmaceutical ingredients. The decision comes amid national security concerns about reliance on foreign suppliers. Lilly's CEO Dave Ricks emphasized the need to bring supply chains closer to key markets and asked for government support to speed up approval processes.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clydd7zeye7o
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgwwd09vwzo
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/26/eli-lilly-drug-manufacturing-tariffs-domestic/