THE HOT STORY

First wave of layoffs to cut about 10% of Meta's workforce

Meta is targeting May 20 for a first wave of layoffs, with more ‌coming later, three sources familiar with the company's plans have told Reuters. The parent of Facebook and Instagram will lay off about 10% of its global workforce, or close to 8,000 employees, in the initial round, one of the sources said. The company is planning further layoffs in the second half of the year, although details of these cuts, including date and size, are not yet settled, the sources said.

Reuters

LEGAL

Former EY employee sues firm over dismissal after Israel 'genocide' speech

Big Four accounting firm EY is being sued by a former employee who said she was fired after a viral graduation speech against Israeli actions in Gaza. EY put Cecilia Culver on administrative leave less than 24 hours after the speech and, after she lodged a discrimination complaint, fired her four days later. In the six-minute speech in May last year, Culver claimed George Washington University was profiting from a “genocide” in Gaza, and called on the institution to “divest from the apartheid state of Israel.” The lawsuit alleges that EY fired Culver to placate an “external Zionist pressure campaign” which was organized in response to her speech. “When EY faced a choice between its legal obligation to protect its employee from discrimination and its desire to placate an organized campaign targeting her for the identity-based content of her expression, EY chose wrong,” the lawsuit says.

DLA Piper prevails in bias lawsuit

DLA Piper has successfully defended itself against a discrimination lawsuit filed by former associate Anisha Mehta, who claimed she was fired due to her pregnancy. A Manhattan jury ruled in favor of the law firm, which argued that Mehta's termination was based on performance issues rather than bias. DLA Piper partner Brett Ingerman said during closing arguments that “The risk had simply become too great to keep her.” Mehta sued DLA Piper in June 2023, alleging bias caused the termination of her contract six days after she submitted a maternity leave request.

Law

Bloomberg Law

CYBERSECURITY

Bain & Co vulnerability exposed by hacker

A hacker has gained access to a Bain & Co internal AI tool used by part of the consultancy’s private equity practice to help assess companies for due diligence and investment analysis. CodeWall - an autonomous offensive security platform - said it had a foothold on the platform within 18 minutes. The hacker has previously exposed cyber security flaws in systems at rival consultancies McKinsey and BCG.

CodeWall

Financial Times

CORPORATE

JPMorgan backs Trump push to ditch quarterly reporting

JPMorgan Chase Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum has said he backs a Trump administration proposal to end mandatory quarterly reporting. "We're very supportive of all initiatives and any initiatives that lessen the burden to ensure that U.S.-listed markets remain maximally robust," Barnum said on a post-earnings call. The Wall Street Journal in March reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a proposal to ditch the requirement and give companies the option to share results twice ⁠a year.

Reuters

INTERNATIONAL

Novo Nordisk hires 2,000 to reshape workforce

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has hired about 2,000 people this year, as the company reshapes its workforce after laying off about 10% of employees in 2025. CEO Mike Doustdar pushed through broad layoffs last year in a bid to make Novo faster and more aggressive, Bloomberg reports. About 1,400 of the hires have already started, a company spokeswoman said. Of the new hires, Novo said 398 have been in Denmark.

Bloomberg

Brazilian labor inspector fired for adding China's BYD to 'dirty list'

Reuters reports that Luiz Felipe Brandao de Mello, Brazil's top labor inspector, has been fired for adding Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD to a so-called 'dirty list' ‌of employers accused of subjecting workers to conditions described by the government as similar to slavery. Mello disobeyed an order from Labor Minister Luiz Marinho to leave the automaker off Brazil's labor abuse registry, said sources. "The dismissal of the secretary signals an escalation of political interference in labor inspections," Brazil's national association of labor inspectors, Anafitra, said in a statement. Brazil's Labor Ministry said the dismissal was "an administrative act."

Reuters

EU age checking app is ready

The European Union’s age verification application is ready to be rolled out to protect children online, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday. “Our European age verification app is technically ready” and will “soon” be “available for citizens to use,” von der Leyen said at a press conference in Brussels. “We are moving ahead with full speed and determination ⁠on the enforcement of our European rules. We are holding accountable those online platforms that do not protect our kids enough . . . This app gives parents, teachers, caretakers a powerful tool to protect children, because we will have zero tolerance for companies that do not respect our children's rights.”

Chinese migrant workers return home as urban jobs grow scarcer

The number of Chinese migrant workers willing to travel outside their provinces to find jobs is falling, and policymakers are fretting about a ‘large-scale’ movement back to the country's rural interior.

Financial Times

OTHER

FTC settles three lawsuits alleging bogus 'Made in the USA' claims

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says it has settled three lawsuits accusing companies of falsely claiming their products were ‌made in the United States. The actions follow U.S. President Trump’s March Executive Order, “Ensuring Truthful Advertising of Products Claiming to be made in America.” As part of these actions, the FTC reached settlements with sellers of American flags and flagpole display kits, entertainment systems for home and commercial use, and footwear products, resolving allegations in separate federal court complaints that these sellers violated the law by making unqualified and unsubstantiated “Made in USA” claims.

Federal Trade Commission

Reuters

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