This Week's Top Five HR Stories

Why Anthropic’s CEO Spends a Third of His Time on Culture

According to Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, investing in company culture is key to maintaining competitive advantage in the AI race. 

Speaking on the Dwarkesh Podcast, Dario says he likes to spend a significant portion of his time ensuring employees are aligned on mission and values to achieve long-term success. 

“I probably spend a third, maybe 40%, of my time making sure the culture of Anthropic is good,” he says. 

“I think we’ve done an extraordinarily good job, even if not perfect, of holding the company together, making everyone feel the mission, that we’re sincere about the mission, and that everyone has faith that everyone else there is working for the right reason.”

What Does "Always On" Mean for Uber's People Strategy?

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, has said he expects an unparalleled work ethic from his employees. 

In an appearance on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Dara shared that he has an "always on" philosophy when it comes to the company’s people strategy, saying that he expects employees to work hard. 

He says: “Part of working hard is sending emails to the team on a Saturday. And if I don’t get a response on Saturday, sending them an email on Sunday with a question mark. 'What’s going on?'”

Since becoming CEO of Uber in 2017, Dara has developed a culture of high performance within the company, saying on the podcast: “To me, the most important skill in life is a skill of working hard”. 

How is Fortescue Investing in Future Talent?

Fortescue is addressing future skills gaps by investing in education programmes that could shape the next generation of workers in the Pilbara region.

The global green technology, energy and metals company has launched grant programmes that provide practical STEM learning opportunities for students across Western Australia's Pilbara.

According to the company, these initiatives form part of a wider strategy to develop local talent pipelines while supporting community education needs.

The approach reflects a growing trend among employers to invest in early-stage education as a long-term workforce development strategy.

By focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, Fortescue is building awareness of career opportunities in industries undergoing significant technological change.

In  particular, its Vocational Training and Employment Centre has been creating career pathways for First Nations people since 2008, offering mentoring, business development and employment opportunities.

Why is eBay Cutting 6% of its Workforce?

eBay has announced it is cutting around 800 roles – equivalent to 6% of its workforce. 

According to the company, these cuts will be spread across the company and based on current and future operating priorities. 

It previously announced it was reducing its headcount by 1,000 employees in 2024, and laid off 500 employees in 2023. 

In a statement, a spokesperson for the company said: “We are taking steps to reinvest across our business and align our structure with our strategic priorities, which will affect certain roles across our workforce.

“We are grateful for the contributions of the employees impacted and are committed to supporting them with care and respect.”

The company shared its fourth quarter and full year results in February, which saw an increase of 15% in revenue to US$3bn in Q4 and an increase of 8% to US$11.1bn for the full-year. 

How Kickstarter's Four-Day Week Boosts Performance

Everette Taylor, the CEO of Kickstarter, tells the New York Times that he "wanted to be empathetic" to employees with the company's flexible working policy.

As more organisations issue return to work mandates – with the British Chambers of Commerce finding that the proportion of UK businesses wanting staff fully on site has increased from 27% to 48% in just two years – Kickstarter is doing things differently.

The crowdfunding platform operates on a fully remote model with a four-day work week, which Everette says stems from his belief that employees should live "fulfilled and beautiful lives".