The EBN Dispatch

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

AI was meant to reduce work. Instead, employees are spending more time managing the machines. This week’s Paper Cut covers botsitting, broken graduate on-ramps, ghost jobs and regulated trust, white-collar hiring pressure, and The Cut List of layoffs shaped by AI spending and restructuring.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25Hashtags#FutureOfWork #AIatWork #EmployerBranding #HR #TalentAcquisition #GraduateJobs #HybridWork #Layoffs #WorkplaceCulture #RecruitmentMarketing #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence⸻Sources & LinksThe Botsitting Economy* https://www.hrdive.com/news/workers-spend-more-time-managing-ai/822610/?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=story&utm_campaign=all* https://hbr.org/2026/06/why-employees-arent-transparent-about-their-ai-usage* https://www.businessinsider.com/satya-nadella-microsoft-how-to-manage-ai-agents-human-employees-2026-6* https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-cuts-jobs-agentforce-2026-6* https://fortune.com/2026/06/11/agility-robotics-c-h-robinson-ceo-task-augmentation-not-mass-layoffs/* https://www.hcamag.com/us/news/general/the-great-flattening-is-costing-more-than-organisations-bargained-for/577002?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=story&utm_campaign=all* https://www.ibanet.org/IBA-global-employment-report-highlights-AI-skills-shortages-and-employee-wellbeing-as-defining-workplace-challengesThe On-Ramp Is Now an Apprenticeship Problem* https://www.npr.org/2026/06/01/nx-s1-5843076/remote-work-college-graduates-unemployment-ai* https://www.hrdive.com/news/remote-work-may-be-hurting-college-grads/822018/?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=story&utm_campaign=all* https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/11/young-ambitious-out-of-work-unemployment* https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2026/06/05/10-most-employable-careers-for-grads-in-2026-according-to-gohumanize/* https://fortune.com/2026/06/04/gen-z-more-disconnected-distrustful-of-coworkers-than-older-colleagues-so-lonely-taking-off-work/* https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/workplace/what-is-microshifting-workday-productivity-be5d150f* https://www.fastcompany.com/91543404/rust-out-is-the-new-burnout-and-it-requires-a-different-fix-burnout-productivity-advice* https://www.inc.com/soren-kaplan/a-60-year-study-of-800000-workers-just-found-the-number-1-cause-of-burnout-heres-what-to-do-about-it/91354235Trust Is Becoming Regulated* https://www.hrdive.com/news/new-york-passed-bill-aimed-at-halting-ghost-jobs/822620/?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=story&utm_campaign=all* https://www.hrdive.com/news/companies-face-potential-fines-for-ghost-job-postings/822670/?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=story&utm_campaign=all* https://www.hcamag.com/us/specialization/diversity-inclusion/19-states-sue-over-anti-dei-terms-added-to-federal-contracts/578627?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=story&utm_campaign=all* https://financialpost.com/fp-work/b-c-court-decision-remote-work-case-employers-on-notice* https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/retrenchment-disguised-job-loss-apply-overseas-new-opportunity-6155641* https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-standard-severance-package-salesforce-offers-us-employees-2026-6* https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-employee-survey-compensation-question-omitted-2026-6* https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-surveys-employees-sentiment-memo-2026-6The White-Collar Slowdown Gets Selective* https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm* https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/research/2026/06/global-employment-slumps-as-business-outlook-darkens-and-costs-rise* https://news.constructconnect.com/white-collar-hiring-slump-clouds-office-recovery?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=story&utm_campaign=all* https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/11/young-ambitious-out-of-work-unemployment* https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnvpn253re4o* https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/deloitte-warns-slowing-economy-not-ai-will-make-it-harder-to-find-a-job/news-story/6135962464d58e29c9291bdb457b2c1f* https://www.fastcompany.com/91554967/the-job-market-is-bouncing-back-but-not-for-these-workers* https://www.biospace.com/job-trends/may-layoffs-hit-nearly-7-000-with-most-cuts-from-takeda-biontech

Graduates are struggling to break in as hybrid becomes a career filter and AI work shifts into a blame-and-proof culture. We cover the broken on-ramp, token-driven measurement, WFH surveillance, labour market strain, and The Cut List of layoffs and restructures.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksThe early-career on-ramp* https://www.hrdive.com/news/remote-work-may-be-hurting-college-grads/822018/?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=story&utm_campaign=all* https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/01/remote-work-youth-unemployment-new-york-fed.html* https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/article/young-canadians-are-entering-one-of-the-toughest-summer-job-markets-amid-a-technical-recession-hows-your-experience/* https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/28/young-people-struggle-to-find-work-milburn-report* https://theconversation.com/hybrid-work-is-not-always-the-golden-compromise-employees-expect-even-as-more-companies-implement-it-283015AI blame + caste system* https://fortune.com/2026/05/28/ai-employees-org-chart-human-workers-blame-errors-bcg-study/* https://www.thestateofbrand.com/news/ai-employees-caste-system* https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/careers/more-exhausted-than-ever-ai-creates-unrealistic-expectations-drives-aussie-employee-burnout/news-story/c261dee1d10f9b6451f31610812a62a9* https://www.hcamag.com/asia/news/general/amazon-launches-ai-worker-robot-that-takes-conversational-instruction/577835?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=story&utm_campaign=all* https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/amd-ceo-lisa-su-at-mit-commencement-companies-do-not-need-people-who-know-how-to-use-ai-tools-they-need-people-who-know-/articleshow/131431407.cms* https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/03/amazon-engineers-in-seattle-slam-employer-for-ai-data-amid-layoffs.htmlProof culture + pay silence* https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-startup-mercor-spends-more-on-tokens-than-payroll-2026-6* https://fortune.com/2026/06/01/cognizant-ceo-ravi-kumar-s-hiring-entry-level-tokenmaxxing-vanity-metric/* https://fortune.com/2026/06/02/cognizant-ceo-ravi-kumar-s-ai-middle-managers-player-coaches/* https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-employee-survey-compensation-question-omitted-2026-6* https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-surveys-employees-sentiment-memo-2026-6* https://www.fastcompany.com/91553359/employee-engagement-was-built-for-a-more-stable-era* https://www.forbes.com/sites/dianehamilton/2026/06/03/why-some-employees-stop-speaking-up-even-when-they-see-problems/* https://recruitingheadlines.com/new-data-recruiter-interactions-with-candidates-and-clients-jump-60-yoy-number-of-ai-tools-used-grows/?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=story&utm_campaign=all* https://www.peoplematters.in/article/talent-management/the-cost-of-rebuilding-talent-now-exceeds-the-cost-of-retaining-it-chro-mohan-monteiro-50075* https://www.independent.co.uk/us/money/software-company-artificial-intelligence-cancel-raises-b2989726.htmlSurveillance + labour market mood* https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/australia-employers-are-asking-private-investigators-to-spy-on-wfh-staff-20260527-p601af.html* https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/04/long-term-unemployment-economy-jobs.html* https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/01/economy/finding-new-job-challenges* https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/04/the-may-jobs-report-will-be-released-friday-heres-what-to-expect.html* https://theconversation.com/almost-3-million-workers-will-get-a-4-75-pay-rise-in-july-but-wages-cant-catch-up-with-inflation-284193* https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93x0k194yno* https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy25x97wrxoThe Cut List* https://www.businessinsider.com/google-clouds-quiet-layoffs-hit-cybersecurity-teams-2026-6* https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/oracle-workers-allege-company-changed-their-job-status-before-layoffs-to-avoid-certain-notice-requirements-13938489.html* https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-layoffs-ai-dara-khosrowshahi-2026-6* https://www.businessinsider.com/list-companies-replacing-human-employees-with-ai-layoffs-workforce-reductions* https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/06/04/tech-industry-loses-123000-jobs-this-year-ai-is-the-most-cited-reason-for-layoffs/* https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/06/04/unemployment-benefits-jobless-claims-layoffs-labor/ac27c740-6012-11f1-9c46-d6211372eede_story.html#FutureOfWork #EmployerBranding #HR #TalentAcquisition #RecruitmentMarketing #AIatWork #HybridWork #CareerAdvice #GraduateJobs #WorkplaceCulture #Leadership #Layoffs