Cross-border employment, EOR, international research and global HR trends.
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.
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.
Microsoft reportedly plans to offer a voluntary departure program to about 60,000 employees across parts of its US, Canada, India and UK teams, covering staff up to internal level 70, excluding some sales, engineering and corporate function teams. Employees will receive severance and career support and must decide by early December, with departures expected by year-end, as the company aims to resize its workforce and cut costs.
A legal analysis notes that artificial intelligence has rapidly moved from a theoretical consideration to a practical workplace reality for employers, citing US Census Bureau and UK government surveys as well as California SB 947 and Colorado SB26-189 legislation as reference points.
Microsoft reportedly plans to offer a voluntary departure program to about 60,000 employees across parts of its US, Canada, India and UK teams, covering staff up to internal level 70, excluding some sales, engineering and corporate function teams. Employees will receive severance and career support and must decide by early December, with departures expected by year-end, as the company aims to resize its workforce and cut costs.
An unpeer-reviewed study posted to arXiv on Oct. 1, 2026 analyzed 86,000 queries across four LLMs (GPT, Claude, Gemini, Llama), finding all models recommended higher salary targets for men than identical women, with gaps ranging from $1,594 (Llama 3.3 70B) to $15,915 (Claude Sonnet 4.6). In one GPT experiment, 80% of childcare support mentions targeted women. Researchers from Harvard Kennedy School and MIT Sloan warn of pay equity blind spots for employers.
A Deloitte executive identified as Houston reportedly received a 45% pay increase during a period when the company was conducting layoffs. The report did not disclose the specific compensation amount, layoff scale, or affected divisions.
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.
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.
LinkedIn's October 22, 2026 「Global Green Skills Report 2026」 (39 pages) shows green-skilled workers hired 52.7% faster than overall workforce. Green recruitment share grew 25% year-over-year while green talent share rose only 13%, widening supply-demand gaps. Most hiring concentrated in finance, operations and tech rather than dedicated sustainability teams.
SAP integrates AI across enterprise transformation phases, leveraging real-world projects to embed AI throughout its digital modernization toolchain.
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.
ORTEC, owned by Battery Ventures, has acquired TOBA HR Solutions, expanding its portfolio in HR solutions.
Anthropic's people products head discussed Claude's role in recruiter function evolution and HR systems integration at an HR Tech keynote. Specific product details and metrics were not disclosed.
OECD policy report on advanced STEM skills identifies five bottlenecks and reveals that recruitment difficulties stem from multiple factors including compensation, location, and onboarding—not talent supply alone. Report recommends four policy priorities and eight action areas addressing broader systemic gaps.
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.