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Breaking Job News: Shocking Quiet Firing Data, AI Hiring Laws, & Job Anxiety Is Growing

• Pete Newsome

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The workplace is transforming faster than anyone is prepared for, and today’s data reveals just how uneven the playing field has become. 

In this episode of Breaking Job News, host Pete Newsome breaks down the forces reshaping careers in 2025 and beyond. AI adoption is accelerating inside large enterprises, while small businesses struggle to keep pace. Meanwhile, IT leaders sound alarms about rising security risks as agentic AI becomes part of daily workflows.

He digs into the new patchwork of AI hiring laws across the U.S., from mandatory notices and bias audits to human-in-the-loop requirements, revealing how even well-intentioned rules can create a compliance maze if companies don’t build flexible governance now.

Then Pete turns to the human side of today’s labor market. Layoffs are becoming increasingly impersonal, with more workers being notified by email or phone instead of in person. Quiet firing is on the rise due to workload creep, micromanagement, and RTO mandates, which are used to push people out. We explore why maintaining dignity during offboarding isn’t just ethical, but also essential for sustaining a strong culture, fostering brand trust, and achieving future recruiting success.

Finally, he addresses the emotional paradox that millions of workers face: feeling secure in their current role yet uneasy about the broader job market. 

💬 Have you experienced quiet firing or impersonal layoffs in your own workplace?

News Articles:
1. Layoff Lifeline Report: https://zety.com/blog/layoff-lifeline-report
2. ADP HR Trends and Priorities for 2026: https://marketing-assets.adp.com/api/public/content/8179f471128e489caac131f44ac0eb4e?v=88329b93
3. 4CR Q4 2025 Employee Mindset Survey: https://www.4cornerresources.com/surveys/q4-2025-employee-mindset/

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🧠 WANT TO LEARN MORE? Be sure to subscribe and check out 4 Corner Resources at https://www.4cornerresources.com/

👋 FOLLOW PETE NEWSOME ONLINE:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewsome/
Blog Articles: https://www.4cornerresources.com/blog

Pete Newsome:

Today's job market headlines include a new report showing 2025 layoff trends and Q4 employee mindset data. But first, AI is moving faster than employers can keep up, according to ADP's 2026 HR Trends and Priorities Report. Here are a few key takeaways. First, 84% of large employers believe AI can streamline processes without replacing employees. That sounds well intended, but I question whether they actually believe if their processes are streamlined enough that there won't be an opportunity to replace employees. We know companies are constantly trying to do more with less. And the less in this case, of course, is fewer employees. We'll see how this plays out over time.

Pete Newsome:

Also, 66% of large organizations say they're extremely excited about AI's opportunities compared with 47% of mid-size and only 33% of small companies. I'm very surprised to see that. If anything, AI gives small organizations the opportunity to compete against large ones in a way that they previously couldn't. And along those lines, agentic AI adoption is already happening, but at a very different pace. Only 4% of small organizations, 25% of mid-size, and 48% of large employers report adopting it currently. So why are you small companies not following what the big ones are doing and then using it so you can be more competitive with it? I just don't understand that.

Pete Newsome:

Maybe it's lack of awareness, lack of time and resources for a small business being to apply just effort in implementing AI and adopting it faster. I don't know, but that's a dangerous thing for me to say, see, because I believe that it just is going to help larger organizations get farther ahead. So small companies need to pick up the pace. Also, 79% of IT leaders believe AI agents introduce new security risks inside their organizations. Now, what's surprising to me about that is that it's not 100%. I mean, who doesn't think AI is going to introduce risk to your company? So those other 21% of IT leaders who aren't concerned about risk with AI, well, maybe you need to reconsider your approach there.

Pete Newsome:

Another interesting stat from this is that CHROs project 327% growth in AI adoption by 2027, and 80% expect people and AI agents to work together across most of the workforce within five years. Five years is an eternity in the AI space. I also think that will be close to 100% by then, because it's going to infiltrate every aspect of life and business and what we're doing. So if you're not, I guess if you're not thinking it's going to happen as rapidly as it is as I do, as all the data shows, you need to pick up the pace. I mean, I don't know how else to say it, because in the AI space, a year is about 60 days. So it's happening and evolving that rapidly. So just shift your timelines there. Definitely worth readjusting.

Pete Newsome:

And then also, I thought it was interesting that many states, not just California, that's been widely reported, but Colorado, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, they're implementing stricter rules for AI when it comes to hiring. They're uh putting, you have to uh notify people when AI is being used, you have to audit it, you have to provide uh enough human oversight. So lots of laws changing there. And I do wonder about states' ability to enforce it and companies' ability, the company's ability to just say in compliance. I mean, the target is moving so quickly with AI as a whole. And then when you have laws on top of that that companies are responsible for adhering to, I just think it's it's going to be a mess. So I'm not sure how that's going to play out over time. So look, it's it's an interesting report.

Pete Newsome:

They're talking about the trends that they expect to be applied over the next year. I'll track them, I'll report back on them. But I think what we believe is the case today, if I look back on where we were at the end of 2024, what seemed futuristic then is just almost normal now. And I think this is only going to pick up speed. So more to um more to come on that as the year progresses or as we get into next year. The next headline tells us layoffs are becoming more sudden and more impersonal. Zeti just released their layoff lifeline report that shows how employees in the U.S. have experienced job cuts in 2025.

Pete Newsome:

It covers a couple of areas. The first is how layoffs happen. And it showed 29% of employees who were let go were notified by email, and 28% by phone call, and only 30% were told in a face-to-face meeting. Now, in pre-COVID times, that would be shocking to see. But since most employees are virtual, it's really only the ones who are notified by email that stands out to me. I mean, one out of three almost, that's just unacceptable. It's disgusting that an employer would treat their employees that way. And what a I always wonder why employers get such a bad rap when I believe through all of my dealings with hiring managers and executives as the owner of a staffing company for a long time, most people are well-intended.

Pete Newsome:

They they don't, they they they want to treat employees well, they want to do the right thing. But when I see this, it it just makes me scratch my head on who could be so crappy to their employees. It just makes no sense to me. So definitely disappointing to see, to say the least. Also, 21% who took the survey said their layoff came as a complete surprise. 36%, 36% saw it coming, and 43% actually suspected it. So again, uh, you know, if you're an employer, I think it's incumbent upon you, or at least should be, to make sure your employees aren't surprised, especially if you know business isn't trending in the right direction. And I'm separating this from a performance issue, that's completely different.

Pete Newsome:

But when we're talking about layoffs, give your employees a heads up. Let them figure out what they're going to do next with just with as much time as possible. It's just the right thing to do. Also, in the survey, 32% cited automation or technology changes as a reason for their job loss. Now, I know a lot of people will see that and be skeptical and think it's just done because companies are saying AI, but it's just an excuse.

Pete Newsome:

You're actually they're actually taking different steps. And listen, there's two camps right now where I think one side believes that AI is replacing lots of jobs, the other side believes it's just something that employers say when they're actually letting people go for different reasons. I personally think it's a combination of the two, but I do believe AI job displacement is something that is going to increase over time for sure. And also the survey touched on what they refer to as quiet firing. 73% of those who were surveyed say they have experienced quiet firing tactics, um, primarily in the form of increased workload for the same pay and micromanagement.

Pete Newsome:

I think these things have happened for a long time. There's a label that we put on it now, quiet firing, but I think it's just bad management. I don't think employers necessarily, I'd be really surprised actually if employers decide to do that consciously. I think it just happens. And in corporate America, it's just evolved over time to be that way. And also 70% believe that return to office mandates are used as a mechanism for quiet firing. That's happening. We know that. Um, it's a great thing to put out publicly, knowing that a significant percentage or some percentage of your team is not going to come back to the office.

Pete Newsome:

But um, you know, 70%, that's that's a little high. I I was surprised to see it was quite that high. And 30% felt that uh they have to train their replacements while being pushed out again. Come on, employers. What are you doing? Don't make people do that. If you need to get rid of someone, give them a heads up, let them uh leave with dignity and grace, and not by training their own employee, uh, their own replacement. It's just so easily avoidable. So in seeing the survey, it's it's just many ways indicative of the state of things in corporate America today and why employers get a bad rap. If you treat your employees better, if you treat people professionally and with respect and dignity, they'll think much better about you even when you have to part ways.

Pete Newsome:

And finally, for today, nearly half of all currently employed workers are anxious about their future place in the job market, despite 77% feeling confident in their current role. This is from the Q4 2025 Employee Mindset Survey from Four Corner Resources. The results show an obvious split in worker sentiment. Employees trust their jobs, but not the job market. 24% said they're very anxious, and 23% said they're extremely anxious about the future market. The survey also asked employees to rank the factors that could threaten their employment. Poor market conditions came in at number one, followed by misalignment with management and leadership, and being replaced by someone who was less expensive or less experienced. And of course, AI made the list too.

Pete Newsome:

That's up there. So, on one hand, it's great, if not a little surprising for me, to see that most employees feel secure where they are. That tells me that employers have done a really good job of making their teams feel comfortable. That's important to do. They should do that. But on the other hand, if you're an employee, you need to guard against being complacent. Don't get too comfortable because the threats that you're worried about, they're real. They're concerns for a reason, and you never know as an employee, especially for a larger organization, because you're not close enough to be able to feel it and sense it, when that can happen to you. So don't be surprised by that and always keep an eye on the future as best you can.

Pete Newsome:

Pay attention to what's happening with your organization, pay attention to market conditions, and of course, I'm going to say this pay attention to what AI is doing because whether your employer is saying it or not, they're trying to figure out how to implement that probably in all aspects of the business. So those are your headlines for today. But before we go, here's the fun fact: the two-minute rule, if you've heard of that, it suggested if a task takes less than two minutes to complete, you should do it immediately to prevent small tasks from piling up. That sounds great, but I also subscribe to the deep work philosophy where you don't want to be interrupted. And so that's what you need to protect against.

Pete Newsome:

Here is if you're have your email coming in all day and you see small requests that you can reply to, and in many cases they will take less than two minutes, that'll distract you. That'll break your concentration from potentially something more important. So I say knock out those two minute tasks at once. Don't try to do them just as they come up because you will constantly be starting and stopping. And that is just a highly inefficient way to work. So those are your headlines for today. Thanks for listening. Please like, subscribe, share with anyone who you think might be interested. And I appreciate that. I look forward to talking to you tomorrow.