Human Times

APAC Edition

29th July 2025

THE HOT STORY

TCS to cut 12,000 jobs in firm's biggest layoff ever

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) plans to lay off approximately 12,261 employees, representing about 2% of its global workforce, primarily affecting middle and senior-level staff. As of June 30, 2025, TCS employed 613,069 individuals and had recently increased its workforce by 5,000. The decision aligns with TCS's strategy to become a "future-ready organisation" focusing on technology investments, AI deployment, and market expansion. TCS has said it will offer benefits and support to those affected. TCS said in a statement: "TCS is on a journey to become a Future-Ready organisation. This includes strategic initiatives on multiple fronts, including investing in new-tech areas, entering new markets, deploying AI at scale for our clients and ourselves, deepening our partnerships, creating next-gen infrastructure, and realigning our workforce model. Towards this, a number of reskilling and redeployment initiatives have been underway. As part of this journey, we will also be releasing associates from the organisation whose deployment may not be feasible. This will impact about 2% of our global workforce, primarily in the middle and the senior grades, over the course of the year."

Livemint.com

TECHNOLOGY

New worldwide AI cooperation strategy proposed by China

China has proposed the establishment of a new global organisation aimed at fostering cooperation in artificial intelligence development. Premier Li Qiang highlighted the need for a unified governance framework amidst concerns that AI could become an "exclusive game" for a select few nations. At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Li expressed China's willingness to share its advancements and collaborate with other countries, particularly those in the Global South, to address the fragmented nature of current AI governance. The initiative comes in the context of escalating technological competition with the United States, which has imposed restrictions on AI technology exports to China.

Reuters

Amazon acquires AI wearables start-up Bee

Amazon is set to acquire Bee, a San Francisco-based start-up that has developed an artificial intelligence-enabled bracelet capable of transcribing conversations, which it can then analyse and distil into summaries, to-do lists, or other tasks. Terms of the deal, which is still to close, have not been disclosed. Amazon spokesperson Alexandra Miller said that Bee is working to give customers more control over the device, which has a mute button but by default works as an ongoing AI transcriber of its user’s interactions. “We design our products to protect our customers’ privacy and security and to make it easy for them to be in control of their experience - and this approach would of course apply to Bee", she explained.

Bloomberg

CNBC

Reuters

CYBERSECURITY

Hacker contest uncovered SharePoint weak spot

A timeline reviewed by Reuters shows that a security patch released by Microsoft this month failed to fully remedy a critical flaw in its SharePoint server software, precipitating a global cyber espionage effort. A Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed that the proposed solution, identified at a hacker competition in May, did not work, but added that the company released further patches that resolved the issue. In a blog post, Microsoft said two allegedly Chinese hacking groups, dubbed "Linen Typhoon" and "Violet Typhoon," were exploiting the weaknesses, along with a third China-based group.

Reuters

WORKFORCE

Rent rise fears grip Hong Kong tenants

According to a recent survey conducted by the Federation of Public Housing Estates, over 70% of tenants in subdivided flats in Hong Kong are concerned about potential rent increases due to new regulations aimed at improving housing standards. The survey, which included 151 respondents, revealed that 71% could only tolerate a rent increase of less than 5%. Many tenants expressed hope that the regulations would not lead to "massive" rent hikes, with 45% calling for government rental subsidies. The proposed regulations require subdivided flats to meet specific standards, including a minimum size of 86 sq ft and proper facilities. Currently, around 78% of respondents pay HK$7,000 ($892) or less per month for their homes.

South China Morning Post

STRATEGY

Dubai's tech boom attracts Chinese giants

Dubai is becoming a key destination for Chinese tech companies like ByteDance, Huawei, and Alibaba as they seek to expand internationally amid domestic challenges. The Dubai Internet City (DIC) is central to this growth, already hosting major global tech firms, including Microsoft and Google. ByteDance chief executive Chew Shou Zi highlighted the company's commitment to Dubai during a visit in 2024. Angela Ji, a TikTok employee in Dubai, said: “Dubai makes me feel like I'm in an era of economic growth, where tech companies still spend big to expand and hire.” With oil's contribution to Dubai's GDP dropping from 50% to under 1%, the emirate is actively pursuing growth in the tech sector.

South China Morning Post

RISK

US tech CEOs urged to address submarine cable concerns

Three US Republican lawmakers have requested that the chief executives of major tech companies, including Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft, clarify the safeguards they have in place to address national security concerns related to submarine communications cables. The lawmakers expressed alarm over the involvement of Chinese and Russian entities in maintaining these cables, which are crucial for international internet traffic, and are seeking information on any suspected tampering or operational irregularities. The letter highlights a growing pattern of "coordinated malign activity" targeting undersea infrastructure, prompting the Federal Communications Commission to consider rules that would prevent the use of Chinese technology in these systems.

Reuters

SUSTAINABILITY

Mining industry to drop ESG push in reporting code overhaul

Miners and market regulators are set to drop plans to include higher environmental, social and governance standards in the so-called “JORC code,” which has been the rule book governing the promotion and disclosure of mineral discoveries to Australian investors for the past 36 years. Australian Financial Review says the code is "a crucial cog" in the workings of the Australian Securities Exchange. More than A$607bn ($395.9bn) worth of resources stocks provide close to 40% of the bourse's listings.

Australian Financial Review

CORPORATE

Shanghai Stock Exchange launches new framework for corporate bond sales

The Shanghai Stock Exchange is introducing a new framework aimed at facilitating corporate bond sales to enhance funding options for private companies, which currently represent only 2.4% of China's credit bond market. So far, 53 bonds worth 37bn yuan (approximately $5.2bn) have been issued under this mechanism, which requires companies to provide timely disclosures and improve investor protections. Despite the potential for higher yields, investor interest remains cautious due to the uncertain outlook for private businesses in China's sluggish economy, with many preferring the perceived safety of state-owned enterprises.

Reuters

LEADERSHIP

Unilever exec Kumaraswamy to co-head L Catterton's India ops

L Catterton has appointed Vikram Kumaraswamy to co-head its India operations, it said in a release on Thursday. Kumaraswamy will work alongside Anjana Sasidharan, the firm’s existing India co-head. He was previously with Unilever where he was the global head of corporate development and treasury.

Economic Times

INTERNATIONAL

Chevron tells newly-acquired Hess staff to focus on safety

Leaders at Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil producer, have told Hess staff to stay focused on safety ahead of being notified this week if they have a full-time position with the company moving forward or a short-term role to help with the transition following last week's $55bn acquisition, two Hess employees have told Reuters. At town hall meetings on Tuesday last week, Chevron representatives presented a slide that showed safety incidents typically increase during volatile periods, and advised Hess staff to continue prioritising safety, the two employees said.

Reuters

Russia's top carmaker may shorten work week

Avtovaz, Russia's largest carmaker, has said it may cut its working week to four days from five in September as high interest rates and Chinese competition hit sales. The state-owned employer said last month that it expects Russians to buy 25% fewer cars this year. Sales at Avtovaz fell by exactly that amount to 155,481 units in the first six months, according to data provider Autostat. Avtovaz employs more than 30,000 people, mostly in Togliatti, a city on the Volga river 800 km (500 miles) southeast of Moscow.

Reuters

OTHER

Pakistan launches sugar hoarder crackdown

Pakistan’s Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain has announced a nationwide crackdown against those attempting to disrupt the sugar supply in the country through hoarding and profiteering. The minister has expressed serious concern over the artificial hike in sugar prices and says officials will target middlemen and market intermediaries who are capitalising on the market’s volatility.

Arab News

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