You’re all signed up for the Human Times
Thank you for your interest in our service.
Watch out for a confirmation email from our subscriptions team. Once you have confirmed you will join the worldwide community of over 30,000 subscribers who are receiving daily HR intelligence to lead, innovate and grow.
Note: Due to the nature of this message you may find this in your "promotions" or "spam" folders, please check there. If nothing arrives within a few minutes let us know. If you do not receive this email we will be happy to help get you set up.
Adding the email address [email protected], will help to ensure all newsletters arrive directly to your inbox.
Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
Amazon informed employees of a new round of global layoffs in an email apparently sent in error. A draft email written by Colleen Aubrey, a senior vice president at Amazon Web Services (AWS), was included as part of a calendar invitation sent by an executive assistant to a number of Amazon workers late on Tuesday. In the email, Aubrey refers to a swathe of employees in the U.S., Canada and Costa Rica having been laid off as part of an effort to "strengthen the company." An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
A survey by online jobs portal Adzuna has found that UK vacancies fell from 745,448 in November to 716,791 last month, a 15% reduction compared with a year earlier, and the weakest full year since 2020. "Competition for roles intensified and hiring slowed across many of the UK's largest sectors as the usual year-end uplift failed to materialise," said Adzuna co-founder Andrew Hunter, who nevertheless observed early indications of a recovery in graduate and entry-level posts.
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
A Dutch court has overturned a 2021 ruling that had classified all Uber drivers as employees, covered by the country's Taxi Transport collective bargaining agreement, which sets wages, working hours, and benefits for taxi drivers. The Amsterdam court said six drivers who had joined the rideshare company in its appeal are self-employed rather than employees, given the investments they made in their vehicle, their freedom to choose working hours, and their ability to accept or reject fares.
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Bloomberg reports that Middle East businesses are nervously watching tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates amid concerns that commerce could be affected. Some companies operating in both countries have begun contingency planning to ensure business continuity should the situation - focussed on the political situation in Yemen - escalate further, according to people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg notes that about $22bn in trade between the two largest Gulf economies is at stake, as well as business confidence. “At this stage, companies are not reacting operationally; they are asking baseline questions,” observed Hussein Nasser-Eddin, chief executive of Dubai-based security services provider Crownox. “Most inquiries focus on financial resilience in case of escalation and whether there are any early diplomatic or consular shifts.”
Full Issue