The Leak, The Lawsuit, The Letdown

My brilliant, battle-tested besties,

Let me tell you something about this week that's got me tingling and my investigative radar screaming. (If you didn’t know - deep down I am just a search geek!)

So we are all sitting here, yes sitting, watching the workplace equivalent of a perfect storm brewing, and bay-Bay… if you're not paying attention, you're about to get drenched. From biotech giants casually axing 3,000 souls while spinning off vaccine divisions (because apparently saving lives is so last season) to federal agencies playing musical chairs with 10,000+ jobs, this week has been a masterclass in corporate doublespeak.

But here's what's keeping me up at night (no - it is not just the hot flashes) and what should have you wide-eyed too: the patterns are screaming at us. AI is silently gobbling up 10,000+ jobs monthly while executives post record profits. DEIB programs are being gutted faster than you can say "legal compliance," and meanwhile, union organizers are getting craftier than ever.

This isn't just workplace news, darling. This is your crystal ball into 2026, and the view isn't pretty unless you're prepared.

They're trying to pull a fast one on you this week. Burying the bad news, hoping you're too busy putting out fires to notice. Well, Mom noticed. I've been in the kitchen cooking up all the receipts! From the real policy shifts, the buried lawsuits, the quiet layoffs. They have me pissed off. And they think you're not paying attention. Let's show them just how wrong they are.

With fierce love and sharper insights,

Jackye

In case you were wondering…Here is your updated…

CSL, Australia's biotech darling, announced plans to eliminate 3,000 employees (15% of workforce) while spinning off their vaccine division Seqirus by early 2026. This comes despite a 14% profit increase and aims to "reduce costs amid weaker vaccine markets."

Oh, the audacity. Let's decode this corporate theater, shall we?

Translation: "We made more money than ever, but shareholders want even more money, so 3,000 families can sacrifice their livelihoods for our stock price." The timing is particularly grotesque—cutting the vaccine division just as global health experts warn of the next pandemic.

Here's what CSL's PR team won't tell you: This isn't about "market conditions." It's about financial engineering disguised as strategy. They're betting that investors will applaud the "efficiency" while conveniently forgetting that these same vaccines generated billions during COVID.

Watch closely, HR leaders. This playbook—profit growth + workforce reduction = "strategic restructuring"—is becoming the industry standard. Your C-suite is taking notes.

Microsoft announced they intend to lay off about 9,000 employees across the company, including from its Microsoft Gaming division, and to stop production on several games. The Communications Workers of America isn't having it! And honestly, neither should any of us!!

If my mom was still alive, she would say: "I don’t care what THEY call it. It sounds like greed to me!" And she'd be right. Microsoft is investing billions in AI while cutting thousands of creative jobs—the very people whose imagination can't be automated.

And here is the stoopid part. Gaming revenues are strong, but apparently not strong enough to justify keeping people who create the actual products that generate those revenues. It's giving "we'll replace creativity with algorithms" energy, and it's nauseating.

This connects to a broader trend I'm seeing: "job hugging" is turning to resentment. (Um. Duh!) Thanks to a stagnant labor market, more employees are clinging to their current roles out of fear, not loyalty. But resentment is building, and when the market shifts, we'll see another Great Resignation. If your retention numbers look stable, don't pop the champagne. You're sitting on a powder keg.

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On August 19, 2025, the FTC issued an unexpected guidance memo clarifying that its near-total ban on non-competes applies to all new clauses, not just existing ones. Um I know how to tell them but this directly contradicts the "grandfathering" argument many large employers have been using since the rule was enacted.

The Receipts: FTC Official Guidance Memo • Bloomberg Law Analysis

My Commentary: Corporate legal teams have been quietly advising leadership that they could still lock down key talent with new non-competes, betting on a long court battle. This guidance is a sledgehammer to that strategy. The FTC isn't playing; they're setting up the first test cases and your C-suite could be the target.

Why this matters: Your retention strategy for Q4 just blew up. Time to pivot to real value, not legal threats.

The Facts: Generative AI eliminated over 10,000 jobs in July 2025, contributing to 27,000+ AI-related cuts since 2023. Tech industry cuts surged 36% year-over-year to 89,000 total. Entry-level roles for recent grads dropped 15%, while "AI" in job descriptions exploded 400% in two years.

My ultra MAGA mother-in-law would think: "This is what happens when you let computer nerds run everything." And honestly? She's not wrong. Even my ultra-MAGA mother-in-law sees the writing on the wall: this isn't innovation, it's elimination.

The 400% surge in AI job postings isn't about innovation—it's about replacement. Entry-level positions are disappearing because why train a human when AI can do it cheaper, faster, and without demanding benefits?

But here's what the tech bros won't admit: AI doesn't just eliminate jobs—it eliminates institutional knowledge, customer relationships, and the human intuition that actually drives business success.

The Facts: The Trump administration is pushing to finalize mass layoffs affecting 10,000+ HHS employees, despite ongoing legal challenges from 19 states. Lower court injunctions continue delaying implementation while the administration argues it retains authority over federal workforce restructuring.

This isn't just government drama—it's a preview of what happens when employment law becomes a political football.

The real story here isn't the layoffs themselves; it's the legal precedent being set. Federal employment protections, once considered ironclad, are being stress-tested in real time. If federal workers can be restructured this aggressively, what protections do private sector employees actually have?

This connects to the massive Department of Energy cuts we saw earlier—about 1,200 to 2,000 workers at critical areas including the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Loan Programs Office, and power grid management. The DOE now considers more than 40% of its workforce "non-essential."

The message is clear: job security is officially dead, and the law is becoming whatever those in power says it is.

The Facts: The Department of Labor quietly announced this week they've successfully recovered approximately $520 million in suspected fraudulent unemployment insurance payments made during the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds had been frozen by financial institutions.

If you and I were having drinks and you weren't reading this in the bathroom: This isn't a victory lap moment. This is a "holy hell, how much money went out the door" moment. We're talking about half a billion dollars in fraud that managed to slip through systems designed to help desperate people keep roofs over their heads.

The kicker? This recovery represents just a fraction of what experts estimate was stolen during the pandemic's unemployment chaos. Real people were probably waiting for legitimate benefits while bureaucrats played detective.

Here's what no one's discussing: the human cost of the administrative paralysis that allowed this to happen in the first place.

The Facts: A new report from The Conference Board, based on 2025 filings, shows something fascinating. While public use of the "DEI" acronym in S&P 500 companies dropped a whopping 68% compared to last year, the reality isn't a full retreat. Instead, 79% of S&P 500 firms now disclose board committee oversight of DEI, up from 72%.

If I was explaining this to my dad, I would tell him: This isn't a death knell for DEIB; it's an evolution. Companies are getting smarter, integrating these principles deeply into their operational DNA, away from the PR noise and political crossfire. The conversation is moving from performative metrics to foundational governance.

Meanwhile, new regulations in California and Texas require employers to test AI hiring tools for bias. It's now illegal to use automated systems that discriminate against protected classes. The rules demand transparency, accountability, and regular audits.

For us in People: Our work becomes even more critical—and quieter. We're not just talking about diversity; we're building it into the fabric of how the business runs.

The Facts: The Target Workers Union officially withdrew its petition for a union election at a Minneapolis store on August 18, 2025, citing "unsurmountable voter suppression tactics and a hostile anti-union campaign" that eroded majority support.

The Receipts: NLRB Case Withdrawal Filing • TWU Public Statement

My Commentary: Everyone was watching this one. Target's playbook was expensive, brutal, and effective—a masterclass in union avoidance that will be studied for years. But the win came at a massive, hidden cost: store morale is in the gutter and trust in local leadership is obliterated.

This is a pyrrhic victory that will haunt their ER team for quarters. Winning a battle can lose you the culture war. What's your playbook's long-term cost?

This connects to what I'm seeing in NLRB filings this week: simmering labor tensions across industries. We're seeing cases against giants like Walt Disney World (2000 employees affected), United Parcel Service (multiple locations), and the United States Postal Service. These aren't just minor grievances—they're charges ranging from unfair labor practices to disputes over collective bargaining.

The Facts: A report this week revealed that seven out of ten workers don't fully comprehend the benefits that are meant to protect their health, money, and future. Seven out of ten!

If you weren't at work right now and could speak freely: We work tirelessly on these programs, but are we speaking a language our employees understand? It's not enough to offer benefits; we must communicate them effectively, repeatedly, and in plain language.

Meanwhile, nearly 70% of workers believe they're underpaid—even when their salaries meet or exceed market rates. "Pay transparency" without context is just another spreadsheet. If you're not connecting the dots for your team—explaining how comp decisions are made, and why—they'll fill in the gaps with resentment.

For Gen Z specifically: They're desperate for financial stability and homeownership, with 43% living paycheck to paycheck. Mortgage assistance is now a top recruitment tool. If your benefits package doesn't address real life—housing, debt, and career navigation—you're not recruiting Gen Z, you're repelling them.

The Facts: On August 20, Instacart rolled out a new algorithm that pools and redistributes tips across larger delivery batches, effectively subsidizing low-paying orders with customer tips. Shopper forums and subreddits erupted in outrage within hours, with reports of drivers deleting the app en masse.

The Receipts: Instacart Shopper Update Log • Reddit Thread (r/InstacartShoppers)

Y’all. This is a breathtakingly tone-deaf move in an industry already under fire for wage theft. The comms team called it "increased earning fairness," but the drivers correctly call it a pay cut. This will trigger immediate attrition from their best, most in-demand shoppers who can spot a pay cut disguised as tech innovation.

How you communicate compensation changes matters more than the change itself. Get it wrong, and you lose your best people.

Oh my Besties…

As I write this, I'm thinking about the 3,000 CSL employees who will go home tonight not knowing if they'll have jobs next month. I'm thinking about the federal workers checking the news obsessively, wondering if their agencies will exist next year. I'm thinking about the Target workers whose organizing dreams were crushed by corporate machinery.

This is our reminder that behind every "strategic decision" and "restructuring announcement" are real humans with mortgages, families, dreams, and fears.

But here's what gives me hope—and what should give you strength: We are the people who stand between corporate callousness and human dignity. We are the ones who can choose compassion over compliance, transparency over spin, and human-centered policies over profit-maximizing algorithms.

The workplace is changing at lightning speed, and yes, it's terrifying. But we're not powerless. Every policy you write, every conversation you have, every stand you take for fairness and dignity. It matters. You matter.

In a world increasingly run by algorithms and quarterly earnings, being fiercely protective of human potential isn't just good HR. It's revolutionary.

With unshakeable faith in your power to create change,
XOXO,


Jackye 💜

Forward this to your CEO, your CHRO, and your work bestie—because the only thing scarier than this week's news is staying quiet about it.

For HR Leaders:

For Talent Acquisition:

For DEIB Professionals:

For Employee Relations:

For Everyone:

Keep fighting the good fight 💪

People Puzzles Collective • Twice Weekly • Where HR Meets Reality

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