Netflix Preparing to Make Warner Bid All-Cash

Netflix is preparing to make its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s WBD 1.62%increase; green up pointing triangle studios and HBO Max streaming business all-cash, according to people familiar with the matter.

Netflix struck a $72 billion cash-and-stock deal with Warner in December. Making it all cash would simplify Netflix’s deal and could sway some shareholders who have been weighing the two offers. READ MORE

Job cuts fall 50%, signaling ‘cautious optimism’ for 2026

U.S. employers announced 35,553 job cuts in December, the lowest monthly total in 17 months and a 50% decline from November’s 71,321 cuts, according to outplacement advisory firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The more positive December figure marks a shift after a turbulent 2025 which saw 1.2 million job cuts, with big names like Amazon, Verizon and other key employers enacting layoffs. READ MORE

Google’s Sergey Brin admits he’s hiring ‘tons’ of workers without degrees: ‘They just figure things out on their own in some weird corner’

Whether it’s Nike’s Phil Knight, LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, or Google’s Sergey Brin, many of the world’s most influential business founders can trace part of their success back to Stanford University. Nestled in the foothills of Silicon Valley, the school has long functioned as a launchpad for tech’s elite.

But the rise of artificial intelligence is challenging long-held assumptions about the value of higher education. As tech reshapes entry-level work and companies rethink traditional hiring pipelines, the payoff of a four-year degree—especially from elite institutions—is increasingly up for debate. READ MORE

Shape-shifter executives: Proof that sideways is the new up

We’re operating in a world where change is no longer a curveball. Over the last five years, we’ve all lived through a global pandemic, supply chain meltdowns, trade wars and tariffs, and now the profound wave of AI reshaping how we work. In this kind of environment, leadership can’t be static. Roles can’t stay rigid. They have to flex, evolve and shape shift to meet what the market demands—not just today, but tomorrow and beyond.

The traditional ladder to the C-suite—one steady rung after another—doesn’t fit this era of constant disruption. What companies need now are what I call Shape-Shifter Executives: leaders who can pivot seamlessly between roles, adjust strategy in real time and guide distributed teams through transformation again and again. And then do it again the following week. READ MORE

This CEO laid off nearly 80% of his staff because they refused to adopt AI fast enough. 2 years later, he says he’d do it again

Eric Vaughan, CEO of enterprise-software powerhouse IgniteTech, was unwavering as he reflected on the most radical decision of his decades-long career. In early 2023, convinced generative AI was an “existential” transformation, Vaughan looked at his team and saw a workforce not fully on board. His ultimate response: He ripped the company down to the studs, replacing nearly 80% of staff within a year, according to headcount figures reviewed by Fortune. READ MORE

Why tariffs have hit Americans’ jobs harder than their shopping carts

As President Donald Trump piled on new tariffs last year, many economists quickly warned that prices and unemployment would spike. With most of the 2025 economic results in, it’s looking like those forecasters get partial credit.

While prices for certain imports like beef, coffee and tomatoes increased significantly last year, price hikes overall were little changed. The same can’t be said of the job market. READ MORE

China AI Leaders Warn of Widening Gap With US After $1B IPO Week

Some of China’s most prominent figures in generative artificial intelligence warned that the Asian nation is unlikely to eclipse the US in the global AI race anytime soon.

Justin Lin, head of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Qwen series of open-source models, put at less than 20% the chances of any Chinese company leapfrogging the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic with fundamental breakthroughs over the next three to five years. His caution was shared by peers at Tencent Holdings Ltd., and at Zhipu AI, which this week helped lead Chinese large-language model makers in tapping the public market. READ MORE

CEOs on Guard as Trump Rattles Companies With Series of Edicts

For American CEOs, reaping the rewards of a Donald Trump presidency is a little more complicated the second time around, in an administration that increasingly pairs conventional conservative deregulation with populist state intervention in big business.

In the last week, the president has fired off a series of demands and edicts aimed at C-suites, all in service of shoring up his political fortunes as midterm elections approach. READ MORE

Welcome to the Office. Now Take Off Your Shoes.

People entering a house party might expect to see a rack overflowing with shoes by the door. Lately, people entering some start-up offices might, too.

The “no shoes” trend is spreading in tech offices, with buzzy start-ups telling employees to leave their Vans and Uggs at the door. Some cover their offices with soft rugs, or offer free slippers. The website noshoes.fun, created by Ben Lang, an employee at the shoes-off start-up Cursor, lists a dozen-plus start-ups with such an approach, including several artificial intelligence firms like Replo and Composite. 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

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