Oracle Blames AI as 21,000 Jobs go in SEC Filing

Plenty of companies have hinted that AI is thinning their ranks. Oracle has stopped hinting and included it in a federal filing, becoming the first Big Tech name to cite AI on paper as a cause of job cuts.

In its annual 10-K filed on 22 June, the software and cloud group disclosed that headcount fell from 162,000 to 141,000 in its 2026 financial year, a cut of 21,000 roles or roughly 13%.

"The adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce," the filing states.

Heineken: Reducing Sick Leave in the FIFA World Cup 2026

Almost half of 2026 FIFA World Cup matches are taking place during standard US working hours.

This can create challenges for HR leaders – with significant potential for widespread workplace distraction. 

According to research conducted by Heineken, more than half of US desk workers admit that they have lied to their employer in order to watch an international football match. 

Additionally, when an international football match that an employee cares about airs during the middle of the workday, three quarters of US desk workers say they find themselves constantly or multiple times throughout ‘secretly’ checking scores or even secretly watching matches at their desk – significantly impacting workforce productivity.

Corporate responses to massive global events such as this have typically focused on risk mitigation – with strict monitoring and rigid enforcement of attendance policies in place to avoid a dip in operational output. 

However, some organisations are going against this approach. Instead of treating major tournaments as disruptions to be managed, some leadership teams are instead viewing them as mechanisms to build internal community, enhance employee retention and re-energise the workforce. This allows employees' passions and interests to be channelled into structured workforce engagement. 

Atlassian's Hypothesis for the Future of HR

According to Atlassian’s State of Teams 2026 report, while 85% of knowledge workers use AI, only 29% have changed how they work. 

Closing that gap, says Avani Solanki Prabhakar, Chief People and AI Enablement Officer at Atlassian, could be a key opportunity for HR. 

“HR is uniquely positioned to drive this change for ourselves and for the business,” says Avani. “HR can’t guide the future of work unless we reinvent our own craft first. We have to live it early, experiment with it ourselves and help organisations learn their way into new ways of working.”

By thoughtfully reorganising roles, Avani says HR leaders will be able to spend less time on administrative coordination and more time on key HR functions that can meaningfully transform business practice. 

Looking ahead, the company has shared five working hypotheses on how it believes HR will evolve over the next 12 months in a more AI-enabled workplace. 

LinkedIn: Green Skills Hand UK Workers a 38% Hiring Edge

Green skills have gone mainstream, and the numbers finally back the hype. A LinkedIn report published today finds that UK workers with green skills are hired at a rate 38.1% higher than the overall economy.

The "Powering Opportunity Across the UK" report draws on data from LinkedIn's 40 million UK members. Its central finding is that green skills are no longer the preserve of engineers and energy specialists. More than half the people who hold them, 53.1%, do not work in a job with a green title at all.

Caoimhe Keogan, Chief People Officer at software firm AVEVA, says that shift is rewriting how companies hire.

"Green skills are not limited to a handful of technical roles. At AVEVA, they show up in how every team helps our customers use the world's resources more responsibly."

Sodexo Names Agnès Park CHRO as Delaporte Rebuilds

Sodexo has welcomed a new leader to steer its people strategy. From 1 July, Agnès Park steps in as Group Chief Human Resources Officer, joining the Global Executive Team and reporting directly to the chief executive.

With 423,000 employees in 45 countries and $27.62bn in annual revenue, Agnès steps in to shape Sodexo’s workforce strategy at a pivotal moment of transformation.

Thierry Delaporte, Sodexo's Chief Executive, frames the hire around growth. "Her expertise aligns strongly with Sodexo's current priorities," he says, casting Agnès as central to "advancing talent development and reinforcing a high-performance culture".