Author: HR Talk

The US administration is reinstating hundreds of General Services Administration (GSA) employees amid a severe manpower shortage that has disrupted even basic government functions. The reversal follows sweeping layoffs earlier this year, driven by Elon Musk in his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In February, Musk had ordered federal workers to submit weekly accomplishment reports or risk being deemed to have resigned—a directive many agencies, including the FBI, State Department and Pentagon, urged staff to ignore. Thousands were nevertheless dismissed as part of the initiative to shrink the federal workforce. The cuts also hit the…

Domino’s Pizza is set to recruit 5,000 new employees across the UK and Ireland as it gears up for its busiest trading period of the year. The hiring drive coincides with the chain’s 40th anniversary in the UK, four decades after it opened its first store in Luton in 1985. The new roles span delivery drivers, in-store staff and pizza makers, and will be spread across Domino’s 1,300-plus outlets nationwide. The company said the seasonal recruitment push will help it maintain fast service and consistent food quality during peak demand. Since entering the UK, Domino’s has grown into the country’s…

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is preparing to cut at least 1,500 jobs across the Middle East after a fallout with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) triggered a slowdown in business. Reports indicate that the sovereign wealth fund barred PwC from taking on new contracts in the Kingdom following a dispute, shutting the firm out of lucrative projects. Combined with weakening demand for advisory services, the move has dealt a major blow to PwC’s regional operations. The firm had already begun reducing headcount in the Gulf earlier this year, with both partners and staff affected. Despite the cuts, PwC is said to…

JSW MG Motor India has placed diversity at the forefront of its operations, announcing that women now make up over 41% of its workforce. Notably, its battery assembly line—running across three shifts—is staffed by an 80% female team, marking a significant milestone in inclusive manufacturing. By empowering women in a critical part of its electric vehicle (EV) production, the company is not only scaling up output but also fostering an ecosystem that values equity and innovation. The Halol facility’s battery assembly shop is organised into four segments—module line, pack line, charging and discharging line, and final assembly line—ensuring precision, efficiency,…

Infosys has introduced a new referral programme, Restart With Infosys, aimed at helping women professionals re-enter the workforce after career breaks. Announced to employees through an internal email, the initiative offers referral bonuses of up to ₹50,000 for successful hires. Eligible candidates must have at least two years of prior professional experience and a career gap of six months or more. Alongside job opportunities, the programme provides structured mentorship, skill-building, and support to help women regain confidence as they transition back into work. The initiative is closely tied to Infosys’ ESG Vision 2030, which targets 45% female representation in its…

Starbucks is facing legal action from employees in three U.S. states who claim its new dress code forces them to spend their own money on work clothes without reimbursement. Class-action lawsuits were filed in Illinois and Colorado this week, while workers in California lodged complaints with the state’s Labour and Workforce Development Agency, with plans to sue if regulators decline to act. The policy, introduced earlier this year across North American stores, requires staff to wear plain black shirts, khaki or dark denim bottoms, and muted-colour waterproof shoes. It also restricts personal expression by limiting facial piercings, banning face tattoos…

Amazon has announced a $1 billion investment to raise wages and cut healthcare costs for its U.S. fulfilment and transportation employees, a move that will lift average total compensation to over $30 an hour. The company said average hourly pay will rise above $23, translating into an annual increase of about $1,600 for full-time staff. Beginning in 2026, Amazon will also slash the cost of its entry-level health plan to $5 per week, with co-pays capped at the same amount—a 34% reduction in employee contributions. Amazon, which employs more than 1.5 million full-time and part-time workers, also supplements its workforce…

Google has laid off around 200 contractors working on its artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including Gemini, in a move that many of the impacted staff believe amounts to being replaced by the very systems they helped build. The contractors—often called “super raters”—were responsible for rating and evaluating AI outputs, creating prompts to test Gemini, and refining summaries generated for Google Search. Their work ensured accuracy, reliability, and safety in the company’s AI responses. Many of them, including qualified researchers, writers, and teachers, said they were underpaid—earning between $18 and $32 an hour—and faced heavy workloads and job insecurity. Some were…

Fiverr International, the global online services marketplace, has announced plans to cut nearly 30% of its workforce—about 250 employees—as part of a major restructuring to reposition itself as an “AI-first” organisation. In a letter to employees, CEO Micha Kaufman said the move is aimed at creating a leaner structure with fewer management layers, a stronger AI-driven infrastructure, and teams tasked with significantly higher productivity. As of December 2024, Fiverr employed 762 people, according to company filings. The firm did not disclose which roles would be affected but confirmed that marketplace operations will remain unaffected in the near term. Fiverr’s platform,…

Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), a Central PSU under the Ministry of Mines, has announced a set of welfare initiatives aimed at strengthening financial protection and fostering organisational unity among its employees and contractual staff. A key highlight is the Group Personal Accident (GPA) Insurance Policy, which now provides ₹20 lakh coverage for every contractual worker while on duty—a move that extends social security beyond permanent staff. In addition, HCL has partnered with State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, and other institutions to introduce a Corporate Salary Package (CSP). Under this scheme, contractual employees will receive accident insurance coverage of…