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Barclays announced 5,000 job cuts (5% of global workforce) as part of organizational simplification and technology-driven efficiency plans. The cuts follow prior reductions of 1,000 positions, with 4,000 more expected by end-2026; 60% affect support functions including software developers, concentrated in UK retail banking.
Global tech layoffs reached nearly 196,000 in 2026, peaking at 29,000 in May. Intel cut 15,000 jobs (15% of workforce) as part of $10 billion cost reduction; Cisco shed over 4,000 (5%); Oracle reduced headcount by 21,000 due to AI infrastructure expansion costs.
On October 8, 2026, the US suspended eight firms—Microsoft, Adobe, TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro, Capgemini, and Cognizant—from PERM permanent labor certification, affecting their H-1B workers' green card pathways. Impacted employees receive eight-month grace periods after H-1B expiration; some roles may transfer to India.
USCIS began approving H-1B petitions filed without the $100,000 supplemental fee required by Trump administration, which had exceeded expedited processing timelines. The fee was established September 2025 and extended to September 21, 2027; a June 2026 Massachusetts federal court ruled against it, with the government appealing.
An employee group warned that relocating UBS headquarters out of Switzerland risks major Swiss job losses, according to Reuters reporting.
Singapore HR tech firm BIPO secured $50 million investment from Apis Partners for global expansion of its payroll and HR technology platform, strengthening AI, product development, and R&D capabilities to address cross-border payroll cycles, compliance, and multi-country team management.
King Salman ordered a SR500 allowance increase and raised the minimum wage for Saudi citizens.
Mexico's Labor Ministry stated most workers will smoothly transition to the new 40-hour workweek arrangement, with some companies implementing early. The new regulation takes effect in less than three months.
Over 135,000 tech workers were laid off globally in 2026 through October across 330+ companies including Amazon, Oracle, Meta, and Microsoft. UPS planned up to 30,000 operational job cuts; Oracle reduced 21,000 with up to 30,000 restructuring impact; Amazon cut 16,000 enterprise positions in January.
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UK outlet hrnews.co.uk published an article discussing what the Employment Rights Act means for employer staff record-keeping. Only a headline was available, with no further detail on specific provisions or effective dates.
USCIS has begun approving H-1B petitions filed without the controversial $100,000 fee after federal courts blocked its enforcement. The fee, introduced via a September 2025 presidential proclamation and extended to September 21, 2027, was vacated by a Massachusetts federal court in June 2026; a California federal court also barred enforcement in late September. The government has appealed.
Bengaluru-based conversational AI startup Hunar.AI has raised Rs 40 crore ($4.8m) in a Series A round led by Blume Ventures, with participation from Hyderabad Angels Fund, Seedstars International and others. Founded in 2022, the company helps manage frontline workforce hiring, onboarding, training and engagement across 20+ languages, and will use funds for AI infrastructure, product development and market expansion.
The Dutch pay transparency law has suffered further delays, with the legislative consultation now scheduled for December 14, making the planned January 1, 2027 effective date virtually unachievable. Works councils are advised to keep preparing for the new rules.
Spain's Workers' Statute Article 36 defines night work as that performed between 10pm and 6am, and classifies as legal night workers those who work at least 3 hours daily or a third of their annual hours in that window. Such workers are barred from overtime except in specific urgent cases, and the law also limits their working hours and protects their health.
Japanese companies are increasingly raising prices to offset rising labor costs, breaking a long-standing reluctance to pass wage increases on to consumers. Curry chain CoCo Ichibanya raised prices on 12 toppings by an average 17% in September and added a 7% late-night surcharge, among other examples cited.
Tokyo-based sales enablement AI company KnowledgeWork secured ¥4.8 billion in debt financing, including credit facilities, in the second closing of its Series C round, provided by Mizuho Bank, SMBC, MUFG Bank and others. Combined with ¥3.5 billion in equity from the first closing, cumulative equity funding reached ¥9.74 billion and total debt financing reached ¥6.49 billion, to support sales AI agent development.
McKinsey's HR Monitor 2026 finds only 22% of surveyed companies plan workforce needs based on skills, and just 11% pursue long-term workforce planning. The article notes AI and shifting role profiles are rapidly changing required competencies, urging mid-sized firms to align skills development with strategy.
German recruitment platform Stepstone has introduced pay-per-application recruiting campaigns, following a similar offering already available on Indeed, according to talent360's Kamila Gula. The feature lets employers allocate budget based on application volume and quality per role, with campaigns managed via programmatic ad technology.
The Dutch government plans to change care leave rules for informal caregivers, which could affect wage continuation and leave registration. Details of the plan and its payroll implications remain to be clarified.
WTW's global Company Car Survey, covering 9,688 respondents in 75 countries including 359 German companies, found 83% of German firms offer a car benefit versus a 72% European average. 46% of German companies already let employees choose between a company car and a cash allowance, compared with 29% in Europe. 60% of German firms plan a policy review within 12 months.
298 Members of the European Parliament are visiting Amazon logistics centres in Germany and Poland on October 26-27 to investigate workplace monitoring, productivity targets and trade union rights. The fact-finding mission comes as the European Commission prepares its Quality Jobs Act, expected to address algorithmic management and working conditions.
The India-New Zealand free trade agreement took effect on October 20, 2026, introducing a new temporary work pathway for eligible Indian professionals with a quota of up to 5,000 visas at any time and stays of up to three years, covering IT, engineering, construction, education, healthcare, yoga, culinary arts and Ayush. The deal also allows contractual service providers to stay up to 12 months, business visitors up to 90 days, and opens 118 services sub-sectors to Indian providers.
Brazil's National Congress passed Constitutional Amendment 141/2026, promulgated on October 16, 2026, ending the so-called '6x1' six-day workweek in favor of a five-day, two-day-off schedule, with the maximum workweek gradually reduced from 44 to 40 hours without pay cuts. Implementation begins December 15, potentially benefiting 26.8 million workers.
German labor law analysis explains that employees can request minimal part-time reductions paired with a preferred schedule to avoid weekend shifts, which employers must generally approve absent operational reasons. It outlines when employers may reject such requests as abuse of rights and why the rejection deadline matters.
The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation published guidance in October 2026 covering 12 work permit categories. Employers who use a permit outside its approved purpose face fines ranging from Dh100,000 to Dh1 million. The categories include standard recruitment, transfers, family-sponsored residents, temporary and part-time permits, affecting foreign workers including Kenyans.
A study using PISA data on a million 15-year-olds finds that in many European countries, over 90% of care-minded teenagers expect professional or managerial jobs, while eldercare and personal care roles barely register. Girls' care-career expectations rose from 38% to 43% between 2000-2022, boys' from 10% to 15%. The EU's 2022 European Care Strategy projects a need for 1.6 million additional long-term care workers by 2050.
Stefanini Group Global CHRO Bruno Szarf says AI is now a required skill in a third of entry-level jobs and has been adopted by 47% of U.S. employers. He recommends hiring based on four core qualities: change management, critical thinking, practical thinking and AI fluency, rather than traditional technical checklists.
A working paper published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in October 2026 reviewed 245 AI ethics guidelines and found more than 60% address work-related issues, but fewer than 20% mention the ILO or its international labour standards. Authors Jordi Agustí-Panareda and Daniel Samaan argue AI ethics discourse largely overlooks the ILO's long-established normative framework for labour governance.
The US Department of State's November 2026 Visa Bulletin advanced India's EB-3 Final Action Date by three weeks to January 22, 2014, while EB-1 (February 1, 2023) and EB-2 (November 1, 2013) dates for India remain unchanged. USCIS will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications in November using the Dates for Filing chart.
US Vice President JD Vance publicly backed eliminating the H-1B visa program, calling it broken. Infosys and TCS saw their FY2027 H-1B registrations drop over 90% versus FY2026, while PERM permanent labor certification processing has been suspended for eight major tech employers, an opinion piece reports.
Korn Ferry's 13th annual Talent Trends report, published 22 October 2026 and surveying over 1,300 talent and senior leaders across more than 75 countries, found 69% agree HR, talent acquisition, learning and workforce planning will merge into a single integrated function by 2027. New senior HR roles focused on skills, work design and AI are expected to emerge, with 77% citing capability gaps as a bigger challenge than talent shortages and 66% planning heavy investment in reskilling.
Singapore's Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment (TWG-SE) released a report with six recommendations aimed at helping more seniors who wish to remain in meaningful and sustainable employment for longer, while fostering age-friendly workplaces.
According to the report, workplace inspections in Germany will become exclusively digital starting in 2027. No further details on scope or legal basis are provided in the excerpt.
Two French decrees dated October 20 temporarily raise the social security exemption cap for commuting fuel and mobility allowances to €1,000, applicable to payments made through December 31, 2026. Published in the Journal Officiel on October 21 and clarified by Service Public on October 24, the cap is a tax exemption limit, not a mandatory payment; employers still decide whether to pay it.
India's Ministry of Labour & Employment and the Uttar Pradesh government are hosting a two-day state-level programme in Lucknow on 26-27 October 2026, part of the nationwide 90-day Shram Samvad campaign covering 316 districts. The event aims to build employer and HR awareness of India's four new labour codes—Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security, and Occupational Safety & Health—alongside welfare schemes and platforms like ESIC, EPFO and e-Shram.
A report by the University of Technology Sydney's Human Technology Institute, 'Drawing the line', says Australia's workplace surveillance laws are 'dangerously out of date', leaving workers exposed to invasive AI-powered monitoring and employers unclear on what's lawful. It calls for amending the Fair Work Act 2009 to require that monitoring be 'fair and reasonable', noting only NSW and the ACT have dedicated surveillance laws and the Privacy Act 1988 has an employee records exemption.
Japan's Immigration Services Agency said foreign residents reached a record 4.28 million as of end-June 2026, up 3.8% from end-2025. Foreign workers hit a record 2.57 million as of October 2025, up 11.7% year on year. A government survey found 91% of foreign residents satisfied with life in Japan, even as Business Manager and permanent residency screenings tighten and renewal fees rise.
Infosys added 4,480 employees in Q2 FY27, bringing total headcount to 332,542 as of September 30, 2026, up just 551 year-on-year. The company also hired 8,000 freshers this quarter toward a full-year target of about 20,000, more than half already met.
Australia's federal government will spend an additional A$6.9 million over two years on mental health and suicide prevention for workers in high-risk industries, funding MATES in Construction to expand in New South Wales. Ministers Amanda Rishworth and Emma McBride announced the investment on October 22 as part of an extension of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Support Programme. MATES has trained over 69,000 workers since 2022, producing more than 8,000 peer 'Connectors'.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said on the Invest Like The Best podcast that the biggest risk in the AI era is refusing to evolve, not the technology itself. He said pure people managers who only manage people will have no future value, and leaders must become 'hybrid people managers' or manager-ICs.
The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has published guidance detailing 12 work permit categories for foreign workers, including Kenyans, covering standard recruitment, family-sponsored residents, part-time work and Golden Visa holders. Employers who misuse or ignore the rules face fines of up to Dh1 million (about KSh 35 million).
Japan's 2026 minimum wage revision brings the nationwide average hourly minimum wage to ¥1,177, with new rates and effective dates varying across all 47 prefectures.
The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation issued a sweeping warning on October 23, 2026, identifying five categories of labour law violations that carry fines of Dh100,000 to Dh1 million (about KSh 3.5 million to KSh 35 million) for private companies. The crackdown targets sectors like construction, hospitality, retail, security and domestic service that rely on migrant workers, including many from Kenya.
Barclays announced 5,000 job cuts (5% of global workforce) as part of organizational simplification and technology-driven efficiency plans. The cuts follow prior reductions of 1,000 positions, with 4,000 more expected by end-2026; 60% affect support functions including software developers, concentrated in UK retail banking.
Vietnam's Decree 393/2026/ND-CP effective December 15 exempts 18 categories of foreign workers from work permits, including investors, strategic tech experts, AI professionals, limited-liability and joint-stock shareholders meeting thresholds, foreign lawyers, and foreign nationals married to Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam.
US President Donald Trump announced that German automaker Audi, a unit of Volkswagen, plans to invest $4.2 billion to build its first US factory in Macon, Georgia, with annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles and creating about 4,500 jobs. Construction is expected to begin next year, with production targeted for the early 2030s.
The NLRB in June upheld a ruling that USPS illegally suppressed senior driver David Covarrubias's safety complaints and signature-gathering in 2021, with management and union both involved. USPS must revoke or amend rules restricting signature collection.
The West Bengal government is signing agreements with major industrial players including Adani Group to provide youth skill training and facilitate subsequent employment, the state's chief minister said. Under the central government's PM Setu scheme, the state also plans to hand over 51 state-run Industrial Training Institutes to private corporate groups to modernize infrastructure and align curricula with industry needs.
South Korea's POSCO union warned of an indefinite strike beginning November 2 at Pohang and Gwangyang plants if wage talks fail. The union seeks 7.1% base wage increase, 600% performance bonus, 50 company shares and 200% holiday pay; the company offered 2.5% raise and 5 million won one-time payment. The company employs ~17,000 workers, ~10,100 unionized.