Human Times

North American Edition

20th May 2026

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THE HOT STORY

StanChart CEO seeks to reassure workers following 'lower value human capital' comment

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters has sought to reassure staff after the Asia-focused bank announced plans to cut 15% of back-office jobs by 2030 as it expands AI. Winters said at the time: "It's not cost-cutting. It's replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we're putting in." In a memo to staff on Wednesday, which observed that the media coverage of the plans "may be unsettling when reduced to simple headlines or a quote out of context," Connecticut-born Winters said the bank had been open that its workforce will evolve. "Some roles ‌will ⁠reduce in number, some will change, and new opportunities will emerge. We will continue to prioritize investment in reskilling and redeployment wherever we can . . . Where changes do happen, we will handle them with thought and care."

Bloomberg

Reuters

AI PROMPTS

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TECHNOLOGY

HSBC CEO says staff need to embrace AI-driven change

HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery has told an investor day event that the bank's employees need to embrace AI-driven change. "We all know generative AI will destroy certain jobs and will create new jobs," Elhedery said. "But my initial mission is I need 200,000 colleagues with us on this journey. However many will be ⁠left at the end of the journey isn't the problem. The problem is how can we make sure that those 200,000 colleagues have been given all the capabilities, the training, the tools to make themselves future ready, be more productive versions of themselves." He said the company's staff needed to ensure they were "not fighting us, not disenfranchised, not anxious, overwhelmed, and resisting the change."

Reuters

WORKPLACE

Silicosis crisis affects thousands of U.S. countertop workers

NPR reports on how officials in California have been grappling with an epidemic of silicosis, an irreversible lung disease, among U.S. countertop workers. Some countertops are made out of "quartz," a composite that mixes quartz mined from quarries with binders and pigments. Compared to granite or marble, manufactured quartz contains far more of the mineral silica. Silica dust can cause lung damage if it is breathed in. Officials have tracked over 550 sickened workers, almost all Hispanic men; most of the cases have emerged over the last few years. More than 30 workers have died, and over 50 have had lung transplants. On May 21, a workplace safety board in California will vote on whether the state should ban the cutting of high-silica quartz countertop material.

NPR / National Public Radio

WORKFORCE

Los Angeles World Cup workers vow strike if ICE agents are deployed

Workers at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles are prepared to strike if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is present during World Cup matches next month. The UNITE HERE Local 11 union, representing about 2,000 hospitality employees, is demanding assurances that ICE agents will not be there. "ICE should have no role in these games," said Isaac Martinez, a stadium cook, at a protest outside the venue. "We do not want to live in fear coming to work, or fear being detained going home . . . If we do not reach an agreement, my colleagues and I are ready to strike."

France 24

LEGAL

Supreme Court to review split over Title IX rights for school employees

The Supreme Court said Monday that it will hear a case examining whether employees of federally funded public educational institutions can privately sue under Title IX for sex discrimination in the workplace, a decision that could significantly expand or limit legal protections for school employees nationwide. The case centers on two former Georgia university employees: MaChelle Joseph, a former women’s basketball coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Thomas Crowther, a former art professor at Augusta University. Both allege they were treated unfairly under Title IX-related proceedings and challenged adverse employment actions taken against them. Joseph was fired in 2019 after filing complaints alleging that the women’s basketball program received fewer resources than the men’s team. Crowther’s contract was not renewed in 2021 following allegations of inappropriate classroom conduct and sexual harassment made by students.

The Hill

Reuters

TAX

Donald Trump and family to be ‘forever’ exempt from tax audits

U.S. tax authorities will be barred from pursuing claims against Donald Trump, his family members or his companies, under an agreement to halt the President’s $10bn lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS is “forever barred and precluded” from pursuing “examinations” into Trump and “related or affiliated individuals,” including his family, trusts and “related companies, affiliates and subsidiaries,” a one-page document signed only by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says. The document did not bear the signature of any representative of the IRS or any current Trump lawyers. The agreement applies to “tax returns filed before the effective date” of Monday’s settlement, according to the document. John Koskinen, the former IRS commissioner from 2013 to 2017, said the expanded settlement set a “terrible precedent,” and “It makes you wonder what the President has to hide in those tax returns. He’s apparently been actively trading in the stock market and, since he knows a lot more about situations than the average investor, he’s probably generated significant taxable earnings . . . Not auditing his returns is the same as giving him an easy way to, in effect, receive money from the government.”

HEALTH & WELLBEING

The women ‘cycle syncing’ their workflow

The FT reports on the growing number of advocates for cycle syncing, a productivity trend that eschews the 9-5 and aligns work routines to the phases of a menstrual cycle.

Financial Times

RISK

WHO worries about Ebola outbreak's scale and speed

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has expressed his deep concern over the rapid spread of a rare Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, where at least 131 suspected deaths and over 500 cases have been reported. The outbreak has been exacerbated by delayed testing and a lack of approved treatments or vaccines. The WHO has declared the outbreak a public health emergency, and resources are being mobilized to combat the crisis. Meanwhile, Matthew M. Kavanagh, director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Policy and Politics, criticized the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from WHO and make deep cuts in foreign aid: “the exact surveillance system meant to catch these viruses early,” he said.

Los Angeles Times

NPR / National Public Radio

INTERNATIONAL

Chinese court rules AI can't justify layoffs

A Chinese court has ruled that companies cannot dismiss employees or reduce their salaries solely because artificial intelligence (AI) can perform their tasks. The case involved a quality control manager who was demoted and had his salary cut after AI was implemented. The Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court said that AI deployment does not constitute a valid reason for termination under Chinese labor law, and employers must explore reskilling and alternative roles instead of using AI as an excuse for layoffs. Kyle Chan, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies China’s technology and industrial policy, said there were indications of a shift in Beijing’s approach to job losses caused by AI. “Previously, Chinese policymakers seemed to downplay these risks. Official messaging on AI focused on the new jobs that AI was creating . . . Now we see more language from Beijing about addressing unemployment related to AI.”

Bangkok Post

The Guardian

Commerzbank workers slam UniCredit takeover bid

Employees and executives at Commerzbank, as well as some investors, criticized UniCredit's new cross-border takeover attempt at the ‌start of the German lender's shareholder meeting. Commerzbank employees, blowing whistles, gathered before the AGM with signs reading "UniCredit go away!" Frederik Werning, a union official and Commerzbank supervisory board member, told ⁠Reuters: "We are deeply concerned that if [the] plans go through, they will not be strategically sound, they will lead to job losses, and they will also threaten German small and medium-sized businesses." Commerzbank has said a deal could result in the loss of 11,000 full-time jobs, nearly a third of the workforce.

Reuters

Union calls strike at Samsung

The labor union at Samsung Electronics has announced a planned strike starting Thursday after bonus negotiations failed. Approximately 50,500 workers will walk off production lines for 18 days, following the breakdown in talks. The union is calling for the removal of a 50% bonus cap and a 15% allocation of annual operating profit for bonuses. Samsung's management says that meeting these demands would undermine the company's principles. If the strike goes ahead, "the economic damage we would face would be unimaginable," Prime Minister Kim Min-seok warned on Sunday. AFP notes that Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul once vowed never to allow unions "until I have dirt over my eyes." He died in 1987. The company's first union was formed in the late 2010s.

France 24

Singapore wants banks to use AI to create better jobs

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong ‌has called on the country's banks and financial companies to use artificial intelligence to create better jobs and train workers for higher-value roles, rather than simply to cut costs. "For Singapore, the answer cannot be to hold back change. If we slow AI adoption, we will weaken our competitiveness and ultimately hurt workers more, not less," Gan said at an event in Singapore. "When firms implement AI, they should not only ⁠ask: how much cost can we save? They should also ask: What new roles can we create? How can existing workers be trained for them."

Reuters

OTHER

Barnes & Noble embraces AI-written books

James Daunt, chief executive of Barnes & Noble, has announced the bookstore will stock AI-written books, provided they are clearly labeled. The decision has sparked backlash among online book lovers, who fear it may harm the brand's reputation. Mr Daunt said: "I have actually no problem selling any book, as long as it doesn't masquerade or pretend to be something that it isn't." He emphasized the importance of transparency, ensuring customers know whether a book is human or AI-written.

Fast Company

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