Welcome to Paper Cut, your weekly source for sharp insights in employer branding, talent attraction, and HR.

This week, we’re diving into:

✂️ Mass layoffs across EY, Siemens, and Morgan Stanley—but workers aren’t buying the usual narrative

🔒 Reports of tech industry blocklists that quietly blacklist laid-off employees

🧠 HR is finally getting strategic, shifting from firefighting to future-proofing

⚡ The return of ‘hardcore’ culture in tech—is burnout making a comeback?

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🔗 Articles Mentioned in This Episode:

✂️ Layoffs Everywhere, But the Vibe Is Different

• Morgan Stanley Layoffs – Channel News Asia: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/morgan-stanley-layoffs-improve-operational-efficiency-us-trump-tariffs-5009636

• Siemens Cuts 6,000 Jobs – The Straits Times: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/germanys-siemens-to-cut-over-6000-jobs-worldwide

• EY Layoffs & Consulting Sector Tension – City A.M.: https://www.cityam.com/as-ey-plots-mass-layoffs-are-kpmg-deloitte-and-pwc-next/

• Layoff Narrative Shift – CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/16/a-vibe-shift-around-layoffs-is-happening-across-the-workforce.html

🔒 Blacklisted by the Algorithm?

• Blocklists at Major Tech Companies – Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-employees-block-lists-widespread-job-seekers-2025-3

🧠 HR Gets a Strategy Upgrade

• HR’s Strategic Pivot – HR Dive: https://www.hrdive.com/news/hr-strategic-role/742912/

• SHRM: HR Focuses on Existing Talent – HR Dive: https://www.hrdive.com/news/hr-shifts-focus-from-recruiting-to-existing-talent-shrm/742935/

⚡ Tech’s Toxic Comeback?

• ‘Hardcore’ Culture Returns to Tech – Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-industry-amazon-microsoft-meta-google-companies-intensity-hardcore-2025-3

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