Office rules stiffen, AI agents start delivering, and the labor story splits. Here is how to keep credibility when everyone else is playing optics.

This week’s Paper Cut slices through the spin to give HR and employer brand leaders the insight they actually need. No fluff, just facts.

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📌 Sources & Links:

RTO With Consequences

https://www.fastcompany.com/91439545/what-companies-are-getting-wrong-about-rto

https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/more-law-firms-boost-office-mandates-remote-work-fades-2025-11-07/

https://fortune.com/2025/11/11/paramount-skydance-return-to-office-ultimatum-cost-185-million-dollars/

https://www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/dutch-employers-are-getting-tougher-about-working-from-home/

https://www.livemint.com/news/trends/no-work-from-home-600-employees-quit-at-us-based-firm-opt-for-ceo-s-buyout-offer-11762927498492.html

The Layoff Signal Is Noisy

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2025/11/13/ais-impact-on-employment-is-negligible-study-asserts/

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/layoffs-spreading-across-industries-careers-233117569.html

https://www.reuters.com/business/verizon-cut-about-15000-jobs-wsj-reports-2025-11-13/

https://fortune.com/2025/11/10/economy-bad-low-hire-fire-labor-market-recession-levels-ubs/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/11/11/job-losses-mounted-in-october-as-employers-struggled-and-wall-street-projects-grim-job-market/

https://www.cityam.com/uk-businesses-accelerate-layoffs-amid-ai-surge-and-legislative-uncertainty/

https://www.iamexpat.de/career/employment-news/one-third-companies-germany-cut-jobs-2026

https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/no-more-hiding-the-impact-of-ai-the-us-government-is-looking-to-force-companies-to-report-how-many-folks-have-been-fired-because-of-artificial-intelligence/

https://www.techspot.com/news/110139-new-data-shows-companies-rehiring-former-employees-ai.html

https://www.marketplace.org/episode/2025/11/11/more-labor-market-blues

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/11/09/small-business-owners-hiring-uncertainty/

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/11/mark-cuban-job-hunting-advice-i-give-my-kids-in-age-of-ai.html

Agents, Tracking, Fair Measurement

https://www.wired.com/story/all-my-employees-are-ai-agents-so-are-my-executives/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-begin-to-see-a-return-on-ai-agents-671d830d

https://theconversation.com/ai-makes-measuring-work-performance-a-lot-trickier-how-do-companies-adapt-269477

https://thewalrus.ca/workplace-surveillance/

https://www.financialpost.com/fp-work/howard-levitt-employers-virtual-interviews

Culture That Operates

https://www.inc.com/benjamin-butler/startups-can-beat-industry-giants-by-leveraging-their-company-culture-heres-how/91261421

https://www.hrdive.com/news/companies-focusing-on-credentials-over-skills-may-be-left-behind-hiring/805350/

https://www.economist.com/business/2025/11/10/how-hr-took-over-the-world

https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/ibm-change-management-phil-gilbert-leadership-failure/91242714

https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/workplace-4-0/talent-management/job-hugging-and-the-psycho-economics-of-modern-work-why-purpose-is-quietly-leaving-the-building/125230856

https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/hrtech/talent-acquisition-and-management/45-of-ericssons-roles-now-filled-internally-as-hr-turns-data-driven/125237846

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/578373/employers-forking-out-more-for-employees-in-talent-short-market

https://fortune.com/2025/11/11/gen-z-share-salaries-compensation-at-work-wage-gap-transparency-wealth/

https://www.fastcompany.com/91438481/conde-nast-fires-four-for-confronting-hr-the-internet-reacts

https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/kpmg-cuts-pay-offers-for-some-staff-in-fresh-blow-to-big-four-0fs3z26pt

https://theconversation.com/why-women-land-top-jobs-in-struggling-organisations-they-may-just-be-better-in-a-crisis-268592

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#FutureOfWork #EmployerBranding #HRTrends #RemoteWork #AIAgents #PeopleAnalytics #TalentStrategy #Layoffs2025