Welcome to Paper Cut, your weekly dose of sharp insights in employer branding, talent attraction, and HR.
This week, we’re diving into:
🚨 Mass layoffs hit their highest level since 2020—who’s next?
📊 The job market is starting to look like the 1990s dot-com bubble—should we be worried?
🤖 AI is officially replacing civil servants—governments are automating jobs
🌍 China’s workforce is shrinking for the first time in years—how will it impact global hiring?
💼 An HR manager pulls off an insane $2.2M fraud scheme—and gets away with it for 8 years
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🔗 Articles Mentioned in This Episode:
🚨 Layoffs Are Back—And They’re Big
Job Cuts Hit Highest Level Since 2020 – NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/doge-onslaught-pushed-layoff-announcements-highest-point-2020-rcna195082
Big Four Employees Fear Job Cuts – SightsInPlus: https://sightsinplus.com/news/layoffs/pwc-kpmg-ey-and-deloitte-employees-fear-job-cuts/
📊 Job Market Déjà Vu: A Dot-Com Boom Repeat?
Is the Job Market on the Edge of a 1990s-Style Crash? – MarketWatch: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americas-job-market-is-eerily-similar-to-the-1990s-dot-com-boom-should-we-be-worried-604d5d6c
🤖 AI Is Coming for Civil Service Jobs
AI Set to Replace Civil Servants Under New Government Plan – The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/12/ai-should-replace-some-work-of-civil-servants-under-new-rules-keir-starmer-to-announce?utm_source=chatgpt.com
🌍 Global Employment Shifts—Winners & Losers
China’s Workforce Declines for the First Time Since 2020 – Staffing Industry News: https://www.staffingindustry.com/news/global-daily-news/employment-in-china-forecast-to-fall-for-first-time-since-2020-report
Australia Pushes for Reproductive Leave in National Reform – News.com.au: https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/unions-nsw-pushes-for-reproductive-leave-in-national-employment-standard-reform/news-story/b3f57926e91d65dc1b8b1297b9fba386
🎭 HR Fraud of the Decade?
HR Manager Fakes 22 Employees for 8 Years—And Gets Paid – Hindustan Times: https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/hr-manager-creates-22-fake-employees-logs-perfect-attendance-for-over-8-years-to-steal-18-crore-101741759765550.html
💼 Looking for a Job in Employer Branding?
EB Jobs Board: https://jobs.employerbranding.news/
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