The EBN Dispatch

Employer Branding News (EBN) · employerbranding.news

Welcome to The EBN Dispatch, the official podcast from Employer Branding News.We’re here to deliver smart talk and sharp takes on the branding of work, one dispatch at a time.Each episode breaks down the latest moves in employer branding, culture, leadership, and talent attraction - minus the jargon, and with a healthy disregard for conventional wisdom. Think newsroom meets boardroom, with a side of dry wit.If you work in HR, brand, or anywhere in the business of people, this is your feed. We unpack the strategy behind the slogans, the reality behind the reputations, and the trends that actually matter.Less fluff. More facts. Occasionally funny. Always unfiltered.

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Episodes 72

”AI-Washing”: Why Most Layoffs Blamed on AI Aren’t
9h ago
Fei Zhaojun's boss asked if AI could replace coders. Two weeks later, he and 160 colleagues were laid off in Beijing. But a new HBR analysis, citing Goldman Sachs, argues most layoffs blamed on AI this year aren't actually AI's doing. Plus: Reed Hastings on why companies aren't families, Disney's early retirement memo, and why the graduate job market just hit its lowest point in a decade.This week on Paper Cut:- The Goldman Sachs number that undercuts most "AI layoff" headlines- A coder's account of losing his job in Beijing, and what came next- Reed Hastings, Brian Chesky and Tobi Lütke on wh
Layoffs Are Being Rebranded as a Turnaround | Paper Cut
7d ago
Diageo, Starbucks, Sanofi and KPMG all cut jobs this week, three of them calling it a turnaround and one unable to even manage the euphemism. UK productivity is finally moving, Dutch unemployment is rising for a third straight month, and a new peer-reviewed study of 7,704 healthcare workers found fully remote staff happier and less likely to quit than colleagues back at their desks. Plus: new research on what handing your thinking to AI is quietly costing, and why "career cushioning" is booming.This week on Paper Cut:- The layoffs everyone's calling a turnaround, except the one that can't- UK
TikTok vs Dropbox: The RTO Whiplash Mandate | Paper Cut
14d ago
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 rig
AI Boosts Output, Costs Jobs, Says the Bank of England | Paper Cut
21d ago · 5:15
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- R
Pay Rises, AI Layoffs, and EBN’s Big Community News | Paper Cut
28d ago · 5:59
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
Contradictions Everywhere: Jobless Claims Fall, AI Cuts Rise | Paper Cut
1mo ago · 5:38
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 act
Meta’s AI Layoff Lawsuit, VW’s Confirmed Cuts | Paper Cut
1mo ago · 6:38
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
Big Tech’s Flip-Flop, Volkswagen’s Reckoning | Paper Cut
1mo ago · 7:37
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 alon
Court Orders, Burnout, and the Office Comeback | Paper Cut
1mo ago · 3:42
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 agains
Work's Uncomfortable Summer: The Promises Are Cracking | PAPER CUT
2mo ago · 7:35
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 Botsitting Economy: AI’s Hidden Labour Problem | PAPER CUT
2mo ago · 4:46
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
The On-Ramp Cracked: Proof Culture Meets a Tougher Job Market | PAPER CUT | EBN
2mo ago · 4:07
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
Efficiency Got Expensive: The AI Bill Comes Due | PAPER CUT
3mo ago · 4:05
AI is being used to justify restructures, expand monitoring, and compress entry-level pathways. This week’s Paper Cut covers the efficiency trap (Jevons Paradox at work), agents moving into HR and finance, the pipeline risk when entry work disappears, the rising control stack, and The Cut List of major job cuts.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksThe Efficiency Trap* https://employerbranding.news/the-efficiency-trap-ai-the-jevons-paradox-and-the-future-of-the-human-workforce/* https://employerbranding.news/the-ai-bill-is-coming-its-b
The Memo That Changed the Mood | PAPER CUT
3mo ago · 6:38
Pay is louder. Measurement is heavier. Cuts keep arriving. This week’s Paper Cut is about the bargain underneath it all: what employers are taking away, what they’re demanding in return, and why “efficiency” keeps landing as monitoring plus headcount reduction.We cover burnout and compensation pressure, AI turning into policy and proof culture, flexibility being renegotiated, HR’s expanding remit, and The Cut List.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksBurnout, confidence, and pay* https://www.hrdive.com/news/burnout-increasing-employee
Layoffs, Logs, Lowballs: Work’s New Math | PAPER CUT
3mo ago · 2:49
Low unemployment can hide a labour crisis. Underemployment is rising, AI is reshaping wages and expectations, monitoring is becoming normal, and engagement is sliding as the employee bargain tightens. Plus The Cut List of major layoffs.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksUnderemployment and insecurity* https://employerbranding.news/the-rise-of-the-underemployed-the-labour-crisis-hidden-behind-low-unemployment-rates/* https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/why-underemployment-deserves-attention-even-if-it-voluntary* https:/
Perks, Proof, Pressure: The New Workplace Bargain | PAPER CUT
3mo ago · 3:44
The workplace bargain is shifting. Benefits tighten, measurement grows, and AI becomes a benchmark for hiring and expectations. This week covers culture as an operating system, AI framing and job design, burnout boundaries returning, hidden risk from shadow IT and workplace comms, plus The Cut List.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksCulture as operating system* https://employerbranding.news/employer-brand-culture-operating-system/* https://employerbranding.news/what-i-learned-doing-recruitment-marketing-for-a-brand-nobody-wants-to-w
Perks Down, Tracking Up: The New Deal at Work | PAPER CUT
3mo ago · 4:02
Benefits are being trimmed, AI adoption is being measured, and HR is stuck managing the fallout. This week: the perks rollback, scorecards and monitoring, the widening career divide for graduates, and The Cut List.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksBenefits rollback and work design* https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/28/parental-benefits-slashed-deloitte-zoom-impact* https://www.inc.com/kaylawebster/the-great-rollback-has-begun-deloitte-and-zoom-take-the-lead-in-slashing-the-most-coveted-benefits/91333534* https://timesof
The Rework Tax: why workplace AI is losing trust | PAPER CUT
4mo ago · 4:19
Workplace AI is turning into a rework tax. Employees opt out, gains vanish into error-fixing, and leaders respond with dashboards, monitoring, and performance rules. Plus the early-career squeeze, remote work resistance, and this week’s Cut List.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksAI adoption, trust, and rework* https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/as-ai-use-increases-at-work-many-employees-still-choose-not-to-use-it-gallup-poll-10633705/* https://hbr.org/2026/04/when-creating-an-ai-strategy-dont-overlook
AI Trust Collapse | PAPER CUT
4mo ago · 7:07
AI at work is turning into a trust problem. Employees are opting out, productivity gains are being lost to rework, and leaders are tying AI to pay and performance. Plus EU pay transparency rules, identity governance risks, and this week’s Cut List.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksAdoption, perception, and rework • https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/as-ai-use-increases-at-work-many-employees-still-choose-not-to-use-it-gallup-poll-10633705/ • https://hbr.org/2026/04/when-creating-an-ai-strategy-dont-ov
Gen Z Sabotage Meets the Megamanager Era | PAPER CUT
4mo ago · 4:17
Gen Z backlash is colliding with flatter orgs and wider spans. Manager engagement is slipping, entry-level routes are tightening, and HR is experimenting with AI in pay decisions while fairness scrutiny rises. The trust gap is the story.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksEngagement, managers, and motivation • https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx • https://www.hrdive.com/news/engagement-among-managers-is-slipping-affecting-ai-use-gallup/817069/?utm_source=ebn&utm_medium=news-feed&utm_content=stor
Oracle’s 6AM Email Economy | PAPER CUT
4mo ago · 6:31
Oracle’s “significant” job cuts have turned AI infrastructure into a global workforce story. This week: what the Oracle layoffs reveal about modern comms and control, why AI skills earn premiums while engagement slips, ILO “white-collar bypass” risk, and why identity may be the real AI threat at work.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksOracle layoffs and AI spending • https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm296jzzl9yo • https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/31/oracle-layoffs-ai-spending.html • https://thenextweb.com/news/oracle-layoffs-march-2026
Welcome to Managed Work | PAPER CUT
5mo ago · 5:39
Work is getting more managed: skills gates, cautious hiring, monitoring, and tighter rules. This week: HR rebuilding foundations as engagement drops, workers using ChatGPT for wage guidance, the return of tougher RTO and monitoring, and the latest moves in layoffs, freezes, and restructuring.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksHR foundations and engagement • https://www.hcamag.com/asia/news/general/ai-analytics-and-uncertainty-how-hr-is-rebuilding-its-foundations/569852 • https://www.hrdive.com/news/worker-engagement-lowest-level-in-
Meta’s AI Layoff Moment | PAPER CUT
5mo ago · 5:21
Meta’s reported 20% layoff plan has turned “AI efficiency” into a headline. This week: AI workplace friction, Gen Z’s growth gap, open model risk and token costs, and how layoffs are increasingly narrated as automation.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksAI workplace friction • https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/16/ai-workplace-friction.html • https://www.metlife.com/about-us/newsroom/2026/march/metlife-study-finds-ai-acceleration-is-creating-new-concerns-in-todays-workplace/ • https://www.hrdive.com/news/employees-dont-see-ai-as-a-co-work
The New Hiring Risk No One Budgeted For | PAPER CUT
5mo ago · 6:40
Hiring is getting noisier and riskier. AI has flooded recruitment with “resume slop”, pushed candidates to hide experience, and opened the door to deepfake candidates and remote work fraud. Plus: why AI rollouts still need humans, process, and proof.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksHiring noise and pay • https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-managers-arent-reading-resumes-slop-2026-3 • https://www.ndtv.com/feature/why-are-job-seekers-hiding-years-of-experience-on-their-cvs-a-growing-workplace-trend-11172812 • https://www.cnbc.com
AI Is Making People Work Longer | PAPER CUT
5mo ago · 6:15
AI was meant to save time. For many teams, it’s stretching the day instead. This week: why AI can lengthen work hours, why L&D is being pushed to prove impact, how remote work is moving into law, and what the latest job cuts say about where the pressure is landing.📰 Subscribe: https://ebn.to/sub25🔗 Follow EBN on LinkedIn: https://ebn.to/lin25⸻Sources & LinksAI and longer work hours • https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-developers-using-ai-are-working-longer-hours/ • https://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-os-dev-study/ • https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.09089Skills de

Episodes

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The EBN Dispatch

Episodes 72

”AI-Washing”: Why Most Layoffs Blamed on AI Aren’t

Layoffs Are Being Rebranded as a Turnaround | Paper Cut

TikTok vs Dropbox: The RTO Whiplash Mandate | Paper Cut

AI Boosts Output, Costs Jobs, Says the Bank of England | Paper Cut

Pay Rises, AI Layoffs, and EBN’s Big Community News | Paper Cut

Contradictions Everywhere: Jobless Claims Fall, AI Cuts Rise | Paper Cut

Meta’s AI Layoff Lawsuit, VW’s Confirmed Cuts | Paper Cut

Big Tech’s Flip-Flop, Volkswagen’s Reckoning | Paper Cut

Court Orders, Burnout, and the Office Comeback | Paper Cut

Work's Uncomfortable Summer: The Promises Are Cracking | PAPER CUT

The Botsitting Economy: AI’s Hidden Labour Problem | PAPER CUT

The On-Ramp Cracked: Proof Culture Meets a Tougher Job Market | PAPER CUT | EBN

Efficiency Got Expensive: The AI Bill Comes Due | PAPER CUT

The Memo That Changed the Mood | PAPER CUT

Layoffs, Logs, Lowballs: Work’s New Math | PAPER CUT

Perks, Proof, Pressure: The New Workplace Bargain | PAPER CUT

Perks Down, Tracking Up: The New Deal at Work | PAPER CUT

The Rework Tax: why workplace AI is losing trust | PAPER CUT

AI Trust Collapse | PAPER CUT

Gen Z Sabotage Meets the Megamanager Era | PAPER CUT

Oracle’s 6AM Email Economy | PAPER CUT

Welcome to Managed Work | PAPER CUT

Meta’s AI Layoff Moment | PAPER CUT

The New Hiring Risk No One Budgeted For | PAPER CUT

AI Is Making People Work Longer | PAPER CUT

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Episodes 72

”AI-Washing”: Why Most Layoffs Blamed on AI Aren’t

Layoffs Are Being Rebranded as a Turnaround | Paper Cut

TikTok vs Dropbox: The RTO Whiplash Mandate | Paper Cut

AI Boosts Output, Costs Jobs, Says the Bank of England | Paper Cut

Pay Rises, AI Layoffs, and EBN’s Big Community News | Paper Cut

Contradictions Everywhere: Jobless Claims Fall, AI Cuts Rise | Paper Cut

Meta’s AI Layoff Lawsuit, VW’s Confirmed Cuts | Paper Cut

Big Tech’s Flip-Flop, Volkswagen’s Reckoning | Paper Cut

Court Orders, Burnout, and the Office Comeback | Paper Cut

Work's Uncomfortable Summer: The Promises Are Cracking | PAPER CUT

The Botsitting Economy: AI’s Hidden Labour Problem | PAPER CUT

The On-Ramp Cracked: Proof Culture Meets a Tougher Job Market | PAPER CUT | EBN

Efficiency Got Expensive: The AI Bill Comes Due | PAPER CUT

The Memo That Changed the Mood | PAPER CUT

Layoffs, Logs, Lowballs: Work’s New Math | PAPER CUT

Perks, Proof, Pressure: The New Workplace Bargain | PAPER CUT

Perks Down, Tracking Up: The New Deal at Work | PAPER CUT

The Rework Tax: why workplace AI is losing trust | PAPER CUT

AI Trust Collapse | PAPER CUT

Gen Z Sabotage Meets the Megamanager Era | PAPER CUT

Oracle’s 6AM Email Economy | PAPER CUT

Welcome to Managed Work | PAPER CUT

Meta’s AI Layoff Moment | PAPER CUT

The New Hiring Risk No One Budgeted For | PAPER CUT

AI Is Making People Work Longer | PAPER CUT

Podcast 森辺一樹のグローバル・マーケティング〜すべてはアジアで売るために〜