Crossword Genius

Worker left European stock (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

handle

'stock' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'worker left european' is the wordplay.
'worker' becomes 'hand' (hand is a kind of worker).
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'european' becomes 'e' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'hand'+'l'+'e'='HANDLE'

(Other definitions for handle that I've seen before include "Manage or deal with - in manual way?" , "Trade in" , "Part by which something is carried" , "Deal with; name (colloq.)" , "Treat" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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