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Human Times helps you stay ahead of the latest news and trends that impact the HR industry. Every weekday, our unique blend of AI and team of expert HR and employment editors and researchers monitor 100,000s of articles, and social posts to create summaries of the most relevant and useful content to help you lead, innovate and grow. The award winning Human Times newsletter has four geographical editions with news tailored to your region.
From HR leadership to diversity and inclusion, hybrid working, organisational data, performance management, and retention strategies, Human Times is the only trusted free online news source dedicated to covering the most up to date headlines, articles, reports and interviews to make sure you’re abreast of changes in the HR industry.
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Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
Epic Games, the developer of “Fortnite,” is laying off over 1,000 employees and cutting costs by $500m. Chief Executive Tim Sweeney announced the layoffs, attributing them to a decline in “Fortnite” engagement last year. “Despite Fortnite remaining one of the most successful games in the world, we've had challenges delivering consistent Fortnite magic with every season,” he said. The company has faced industry-wide challenges, including slower growth and tougher cost economics. The State of the Game Industry Report from the Game Developers Conference revealed that about one-third of U.S. video game industry workers were laid off in the past two years. Sweeney aims to focus on enhancing “awesome Fortnite experiences” and improving developer tools moving forward.
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
The Co-op has announced that chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq will step down at the end of March. The BBC says the news comes weeks after it reported on claims of a "toxic culture" at the top of the food and services group. A letter sent to Co-op board members had complained of "fear and alienation" among even senior staff who felt scared to raise concerns about the direction of the business in front of the leadership team - claims which the Co-op said it didn't recognise at the time. The retailer yesterday revealed higher-than-expected financial impacts from a major cyber attack in April 2025 which forced the shutdown of systems, causing disruption across its 2,300 UK stores and contributing to a £285m hit to 2025 revenues and a £107m impact on profitability, alongside £21m of additional one-off costs. The group said the leadership change reflects the need for long-term direction as it executes a multi-year recovery and growth strategy. Board member Kate Allum has been appointed as interim CEO while a successor is sought.
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
Germany’s Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil says he wants to force foreign companies to form joint ventures with local businesses to operate within Europe, in a bid to obtain greater scrutiny of cross-border takeovers. The proposals aim to protect German firms in sectors where they “have fallen behind technologically,” according to a finance ministry document. Bloomberg notes the idea would mirror a method already employed in China. “I know these are tough measures and tough demands,” Klingbeil said. “But they are necessary if we are to safeguard technologies and jobs here in Europe.” Klingbeil also called for changes in income tax that he said would deliver several hundred euros a year in relief to 95% of employees. "Anyone who works hard and works more will finally have more money in their pocket as a result of this reform," he said, adding that higher earners and wealthy asset holders should shoulder more of the burden. The new proposals also seek the abolition of the current income splitting system for married couples, which lowers taxes for partners with unequal earnings.
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink has said people's perception of skilled trades must change. The boss of the world's largest asset manager observed that the average plumber had been portrayed on television as being overweight and having their pants hanging below their waistline, while investment bankers are idolised in drama series like Industry. "I think what we did [was] wrong," he said. "We really put judgment on so many jobs and so many people who probably should not have gone into banking or media or law, probably should have been a great worker with their hands, and we need to now rebalance that approach." He told the BBC that, in the US after World War Two, "we built the foundation of education, and we said to all the young people, go to college, go to college, go to college. And we probably overdid it." He added: "We need to balance that out, and we need to be proud that . . . a career can be just as strong in these fields of plumbing and electricians."
Full Issue
Read the latest HR highlights
How HR is Tackling Long Covid?
Fingers remain tightly crossed around the world that the rampant hospitalization and fatality stage of the Covid-19 pandemic has generally peaked. Vaccination programmes are accelerating, and restrictions are gradually being lifted...
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ESG Is Not Just Another Name For CSR
Back in the distant 1980s if you wanted to demonstrate your environmental and ethical credentials it was sufficient to shop at or purchase shares in retailer The Body Shop. The charismatic Anita Roddick, founder of the “hippy” tinged retail chain, heralded a new age of environmental concern, caring capitalism and corporate awareness that evolved into what became known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR was much talked about and lauded, but in reality often ended up being a lot of a hot air (excuse the pun) and often never progressed much beyond a footnote in the annual report.
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Have Older Workers Paid The Highest COVID-19 Price?
Across the world the pandemic is slowly but surely moving into its next phase. Recovery beckons. As furlough schemes across the U.S. and U.K. are being wound down, restrictions eased or lifted, and workforces moving back up the gears, early signs indicate that older employees are more likely to be casualties of the pandemic aftermath than their younger colleagues. Here at the we have witnessed an increasing number of stories supporting the growing belief that older workers are disproportionately paying the highest Covid-19 price.
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Bosses. What's not to like? Plenty, say employees
“You’ll never have another boss like me, someone who’s basically a chilled-out entertainer”
So said, David Brent, the fictional manager of Slough-based paper merchant Wernham Hogg in the seminal TV comedy The Office. Ricky Gervais’s portrayal of Brent as a flawed, narcissistic, incompetent, and deluded manager was so well observed that many (including me) believed it was a genuine fly-on-the-wall documentary when they alighted accidentally on the first ever episode.
Rolling with the Payroll
To mark National Payroll Week the team at the Human Times has provided some insight into the industry that we hope you’ll find useful.
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