The EBN Dispatch

Fei Zhaojun's boss asked if AI could replace coders. Two weeks later, he and 160 colleagues were laid off in Beijing. But a new HBR analysis, citing Goldman Sachs, argues most layoffs blamed on AI this year aren't actually AI's doing. Plus: Reed Hastings on why companies aren't families, Disney's early retirement memo, and why the graduate job market just hit its lowest point in a decade.This week on Paper Cut:- The Goldman Sachs number that undercuts most "AI layoff" headlines- A coder's account of losing his job in Beijing, and what came next- Reed Hastings, Brian Chesky and Tobi Lütke on why "family" and layoffs don't mix- The entry-level job market squeeze, and what workers actually want insteadSubscribe for weekly employer branding news: https://ebn.to/sub25Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25 Join EBClub, the community for employer branding professionals: https://ebclub.io/ytjoin#employerbranding #talentattraction #futureofwork #humanresources

Diageo, Starbucks, Sanofi and KPMG all cut jobs this week, three of them calling it a turnaround and one unable to even manage the euphemism. UK productivity is finally moving, Dutch unemployment is rising for a third straight month, and a new peer-reviewed study of 7,704 healthcare workers found fully remote staff happier and less likely to quit than colleagues back at their desks. Plus: new research on what handing your thinking to AI is quietly costing, and why "career cushioning" is booming.This week on Paper Cut:- The layoffs everyone's calling a turnaround, except the one that can't- UK productivity vs Dutch unemployment: two true numbers pulling apart- The 7,704-person study undercutting a year of return-to-office mandates- AI's hidden cost, and why workers are quietly building their own safety netsSubscribe for weekly employer branding news: https://ebn.to/sub25 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25 Join EBClub, the community for employer branding professionals: https://ebclub.io/ytjoin#employerbranding #layoffs #futureofwork

TikTok wants staff back five days a week. Dropbox is doubling down on remote. This episode covers that split, plus Oracle's layoffs against Singapore's AI employment gains, hiring data that can't agree with itself, and who actually gets blamed when the work doesn't get done.This week's Paper Cut covers:TikTok's five-day RTO mandate versus Dropbox's virtual-first commitment, plus ABN Amro's RTO-and-layoffs combinationOracle's AI-funded layoffs against Singapore's AI employment gains, and California's new AI job-loss trackerUK hiring turning a corner while many companies still can't find the right talent54% of Gen Z ghosting job offers, bosses accused of not working as hard, and staff reporting 90-hour weeksSubscribe to Paper Cut: https://ebn.to/sub25 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25 Join EBClub: https://ebclub.io/ytjoin EBN: https://employerbranding.news#employerbranding #hrnews #hiringtrends #hrleadership #futureofwork

The Bank of England says AI is lifting productivity and costing jobs, in the same breath. This episode covers that, plus a jobs report that says the market is fine while workers say otherwise, Gen Z's surprising ambition, and pay negotiation getting a new referee.This week's Paper Cut covers:- The Bank of England's dual verdict on AI, productivity and jobs, plus what "botsitting" is costing employees- July's jobs report versus sinking worker confidence and record-low job switching in Australia- A KPMG survey showing 93% of interns want to become executives, and what that means for retention- RTO pushback, empty offices refilling, and AI-generated salary ranges showing up in pay talksSubscribe to Paper Cut: https://ebn.to/sub25 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25 Join EBClub: https://ebclub.io/ytjoin

Employers are planning pay rises and more hiring this quarter. Visa, Uber, and CBA are cutting roles and citing AI, in the same week. This episode covers the split, plus AI adoption without training, RTO culture, and EBN and EBClub joining forces.This week's Paper Cut covers:- Pay rises and hiring plans at Japanese and Chinese employers, against AI-linked cuts at Visa, and AI substitution at CBA, Microsoft and Uber- EBN and EBClub combining forces into one global community for employer branding professionals - Join EBClub: https://ebclub.io/ytjoin- Companies mandating AI use before building AI-ready workforces, and Atlassian's AI wallet alternative- RTO culture, the "productivity performance trap," and Gen Z unemployment versus CEO optimismSubscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25

US jobless claims just hit a decades-low. In the same week, Uber, British Gas, and Amazon all cut jobs citing AI, and Google employees organised a petition 4,500 signatures deep.This week's Paper Cut covers: the contradiction between decades-low jobless claims and a steady drumbeat of AI-cited layoffs at Uber, Centrica, and Amazon, including the irony of Amazon cutting its own AGI team; Google's 4,500-signature petition for layoff protections alongside quieter, less constructive employee responses like fake meetings and workplace sabotage; Barclays and Adecco's clashing views on what AI is actually doing to productivity and employment; and new friction in office culture, from a judge's ruling on webcam opt-outs to why Gen Z keeps turning down management roles.Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25EBN: https://employerbranding.news

A lawsuit alleges an algorithm chose who got laid off at Meta, and allegedly targeted staff on protected medical leave. Volkswagen's threatened cuts just became a confirmed number. And a new phrase, the forever layoff, is giving language to something a lot of HR leaders have felt for a while.This week's Paper Cut covers: the Meta AI layoff lawsuit and what it means for algorithmic accountability at the point of termination, not just hiring; Volkswagen's confirmed 50,000 job cuts after its board rejected plant closures; the "forever layoff" phenomenon, early retirements, and the parallel labour shocks hitting China's graduates and factory workers; and how job-hugging, RTO-as-pay-cut, and Gen Z job-scrolling are fraying the employment relationship even where nobody's been made redundant.Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25 #employerbranding #recruitmentmarketing #hr #humanresources

Big Tech stopped hiding behind euphemisms on AI layoffs this week and flip-flopped on its own story, the labour participation drop finally got a number nobody can explain, and Volkswagen is weighing 100,000 job cuts as its old headcount math stops working.This week's Paper Cut covers: Microsoft and Xbox naming AI displacement directly in layoff announcements, and the irony of the Fed appointing a CEO who just cut thousands to lead its jobs task force; the 61.5% labour force participation figure and the economist disagreement underneath it; a rare wrongful termination win against Atlassian alongside a troubling Bethesda HR story; and Volkswagen's potential 100,000 job cuts, plus how heat and the World Cup are quietly reviving remote work regardless.Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25#EmployerBranding #PaperCutEBN #AIlayoffs #BigTechFlipFlop #FutureOfWork #Volkswagen

An algorithm ended up in court this week, an engineer described his job quietly outgrowing his week, and the labour market lost more people than the unemployment rate admits.Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25This week's Paper Cut covers: the Workday age-discrimination case that could set a precedent for AI hiring tools everywhere; what AI is actually doing to engineers' confidence, from Business Insider's reporting to Ford's quality-check reversal; a labour market fraying beneath a falling unemployment rate; and Revolut's compulsory office policy against a backdrop of remote work that refuses to disappear.#EmployerBranding #PaperCutEBN #HRNews #AIHiring #WorkdayLawsuit #FutureOfWork #TalentAcquisition #ReturnToOffice #AIatWork #HRTech

Twenty-one thousand jobs. One government tracker. Two banks that forgot their own RTO policy. Hot enough for you?Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25This fortnight's Paper Cut covers four stories that connect in ways nobody is saying out loud. AI is reshaping the workforce faster than governance can follow. RTO mandates are cracking under the weight of their own inconsistency. Employee surveillance is expanding without legal frameworks to match. And California became the first US state to formally track what AI is doing to employment in real time.We cover the structural pressure on the consultancy model and what PwC's 2026 AI Jobs Barometer says about the two-speed labour market. We look at the Wharton research on why RTO mandates are rarely about productivity, and what Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan revealed about their own policies by making a World Cup exception. We break down what AI is doing to senior talent across every career stage, from Gen Z graduates to experienced baby boomers. And we examine why less than 5% of companies are achieving transformational outcomes from AI, while burnout and unsanctioned tool use are both rising.Plus The Cut List: Oracle, Lucid Motors, Shopee, Diageo, Lazada, Bungie, and the broader Singapore and Australia workforce picture.#PaperCut #EmployerBranding #FutureOfWork #AI #ReturnToOffice #RTO #WorkplaceSurveillance #Layoffs #HRNews #TalentStrategy #AIJobs #EmployerBrand #HRLeaders #WorkplaceTrends #PwC #CalifoniaAI #SeniorTalent #AIBurnout #CutList #EBN