The AI layoff trap: Why half will be quietly rehired

Two parallel workforce crises are unfolding: Experienced workers are being laid off for AI capabilities that don’t exist yet, while new graduates find that the entry-level roles they need to launch their careers have vanished.

Together, these trends suggest a breakdown in how organizations are managing the AI transition. And some experts say that HR leaders are uniquely positioned to stop it. READ MORE

Billionaire Larry Ellison comes to his son’s rescue, agreeing to personally guarantee over $40 billion

Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison is raising the stakes in the battle for Hollywood’s future, personally intervening to salvage his son David Ellison’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. On Monday, David’s company, Paramount Skydance, announced the elder Ellison had provided an “irrevocable personal guarantee” of $40.4 billion to finance the deal, directly countering claims that the company’s funding was unreliable.​

It’s the latest turn in the high-profile tug-of-war for Warner Bros. Discovery, one of the entertainment industry’s crown jewels. David Ellison, who became CEO of the newly merged Paramount Skydance in August, has been aggressively pursuing Warner Bros. with a $108 billion all-cash offer, which comes out to about $30 per share. However, WBD’s board rejected that proposal in favor of a rival agreement to sell its studio and streaming assets to Netflix for roughly $83 billion.​ READ MORE

The AI layoff trap: Why half will be quietly rehired

Two parallel workforce crises are unfolding: Experienced workers are being laid off for AI capabilities that don’t exist yet, while new graduates find that the entry-level roles they need to launch their careers have vanished.

Together, these trends suggest a breakdown in how organizations are managing the AI transition. And some experts say that HR leaders are uniquely positioned to stop it. READ MORE

Why Gen Z hides their AI use: The anxiety behind adoption

Nearly half of employees are concealing their AI use at work, but the reasons why reveal a disconnect between how employers understand AI adoption and what’s actually happening on the ground, particularly among the youngest workers.

According to analytics platform Slingshot’s 2025 Digital Work Trends Report, which surveyed 500 full-time U.S. employees and managers, 45% of workers keep their AI use private to some extent. Yet 60% of employers believe their teams are being fully transparent about AI usage. This perception gap illuminates a misunderstanding of workplace AI dynamics, one that’s especially pronounced across generational lines. READ MORE

What Is a Digital Nomad?

Digital nomads are remote workers, including self-employed individuals, freelancers, and employees.

They may travel domestically or overseas, and the internet keeps them connected to jobs, co-workers, and clients. Indeed, the nomadic lifestyle is a unique opportunity millions of Americans choose. READ MORE

The Electric Car Transition Unravels Slowly, Then All at Once

The global transition to electric vehicles is beginning to unravel the way major changeovers often do: slowly at first, then all at once.

This week brought a cascade of signals that the EV era is entering a more uncertain, more contested phase. The European Commission backed away from what had been the world’s most aggressive timeline for phasing out internal-combustion engines, granting manufacturers and consumers more time to move off gasoline. A day earlier, Ford (F) Motor Co. announced $19.5 billion in charges tied to the retreat from an electric strategy it vowed to go all in on eight years ago. READ MORE

Your employees are ‘polyworking.’ Why that’s bad for your business

A new survey has found that 47% of U.S. workers now hold more than one job, suggesting the “polyworking” trend is growing as workers continue to face mounting financial pressures and broader economic uncertainty.

According to Monster’s 2025 Polyworking Survey, which tapped into the views of about 800 U.S. workers, polyworking is far from a “side hustle” for many. Just under half hold a full-time job alongside part-time roles; 12% even have more than one full-time job. READ MORE

Lack of Coaching Is Killing the Performance of Performance Management

Effective performance management — true to its name — requires intentional, well-executed management. The driving force? Impactful guidance and development — fueled by managers.

But here’s the problem: Most managers aren’t delivering. Only 1 in 5Open in a new tab provide effective coaching and feedback to the employees working under them, according to recent research from consulting firm WTW — with significant challenges in individual goal-setting and helping keep goals on track and relevant year-round. READ MORE

Pebble’s founder introduces a $75 AI smart ring for recording brief notes with a press of a button

After rebooting the Pebble smartwatch brand, founder Eric Migicovsky is expanding his company’s device lineup with a new smart wearable: an AI-powered smart ring known as Index 01. Named for the finger where the ring is meant to be worn, the new $75 ring is not meant to be a competitor to always-on, always-listening AI devices, like the AI pendant Friend, but instead offers a way to record quick notes and reminders with a press of a button on the ring’s side.

AI only comes into play via the open source, speech-to-text, and AI models that run locally on your smartphone through the Pebble mobile app. That is, if the ring’s button is not being pressed, it’s not recording. (And this is a press-and-hold gesture, too, which means you can’t start the ring’s recording and then let go to surreptitiously record a conversation.) READ MORE

AI Saves Workers Less Than an Hour Each Day

OpenAI's 2025 'The State of Enterprise AI' report provides an in-depth look at how businesses are using AI tools within real companies. Drawing on anonymized usage data from more than 1 million business customers, along with a survey of 9,000 workers at nearly 100 organizations, the report presents a picture of increased AI adoption and integration in the workplace. 

"Across surveyed enterprises, 75% of workers report that using AI at work has improved either the speed or quality of their output," the report states. Also, the report says that "75% of users report being able to complete new tasks they previously could not perform."  READ MORE

Job openings rebound — but hiring doesn’t — in low-hire, low-fire U.S. economy

Job openings in the U.S. rose sharply in the fall and layoffs remained low as businesses geared up for the holiday season, but the number of people actually being hired was still down in the dumps.

Those were the findings from the latest government survey of job openings, in a report delayed by the federal shutdown.

In short, the U.S. still has what economists call a low-hire, low-fire job market. Not good by any stretch, but not awful, either. READ MORE

AI inequity: Roles such as clerks, bookkeepers most likely to be automated, study finds

Job roles dominated by women are at the highest risk of being automated, according to a study by Credera.

The same jobs are also 20% less likely to use GenAI, the data showed, with jobs for administrative assistants, office clerks, bookkeepers and cashiers in the most jeopardy of being replaced.

“We stand at the precipice of the greatest economic revolution in generations,” said Brian Peret, director of the software engineering service company, CodeBoxx Academy. READ MORE

Will 2026 be the year of work from ‘an office,’ not ‘the office’?

While a number of high-profile organizations have called workers back to the office full-time in recent months, leaders largely recognize that employees are craving flexibility, according to new research.

The survey from International Workplace Group reinforces “what we are seeing play out on a global scale: Long, costly, daily treks to faraway offices no longer make sense in today’s tech-enabled world,” says Mark Dixon, IWG’s founder and CEO. As a result, he adds, many organizations are empowering employees to work closer to where they live and want to be. READ MORE

Scientists discover 'magical' material that's stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum — and its potential is dizzying

Galvorn is stronger than steel, lighter than aluminum, and has the conductivity of copper, according to an article on LinkedIn. While the jury is still out on whether it's faster than a speeding bullet, experts at Houston-based DexMat suggest their product can revolutionize the green tech landscape.

Galvorn can be an alternative to rare and expensive copper — a crucial metal in electronics, according to a report from GreenBiz. What's more, the inventors plan to displace dirty materials, contribute to cleaner air, and advance green tech as their "magical" material is rolled out. READ MORE

Startup makes major breakthrough in pursuit of limitless energy source: 'Has been demonstrated'

A Japanese company finished testing a superconducting magnet that could help make fusion energy work on a commercial scale, reported Interesting Engineering.

Helical Fusion tested a coil that kept electricity flowing steadily while exposed to the intense magnetic forces present in a working fusion reactor. This marks the first time a commercial-scale coil has operated successfully under such conditions. READ MORE

‘Quiet firing’ and layoffs have workers ’emotionally drained and stressed’ heading into 2026

From Verizon to Amazon and beyond, large-scale layoffs are redefining the current job market—but another tactic may be just as destabilizing to the American workforce: quiet firing.

Zety’s Layoff Lifeline Report finds that a majority of workers surveyed report having experienced “quiet firing” tactics: when employers try to push employees out without actually formally showing them the door. The report was compiled from three Zety surveys conducted throughout 2025, including one of 1,000 U.S. employees and two surveys of nearly 1,000 employees who had been laid off within the past two years. READ MORE