Workforce

Soft power institution faces funding crisis linked to Covid-era government loan soon due to be repaidStaff at the British Council in Italy will go on strike on Thursday over deep cuts that would slash about 80% of its workforce due to a funding crisis facing the organisation.Out of 130 of its teaching staff across Rome, Milan and Naples, 108 are being targeted as teaching activities in Italy face the axe. The move would end 80 years of British Council English language teaching in Italy as part of the organisation’s global mission to promote British culture and education across the world, sources said. Continue reading...

• Blocks, an AI startup, secured $20 million in Series A funding led by Entrée Capital to develop autonomous digital workforces. • The funding will support deployment of AI agents capable of handling complex tasks independently. • This investment highlights growing VC interest in agentic AI technologies amid enterprise automation demands.

• Companies in the US are spending 93% of their AI budgets on technology and only 7% on preparing their workforce, leading to implementation bottlenecks. • Among executives surveyed, 78% report greater benefits from AI in revenue growth than cost-cutting, with experts predicting revenue gains will dwarf efficiency improvements. • Firms treating workforce as an afterthought risk failure despite advanced AI tools, as highlighted by insights from Deloitte, Wharton, and Harvard experts.

• Thousands of CDC employees have been laid off over the past year, leaving the agency in chaos amid funding cuts and the aftermath of a deadly shooting at its Atlanta headquarters last summer. • Insiders express concerns that the incoming Trump-nominated director will further erode trust in the agency as measles outbreaks escalate and vaccine policies face resistance. • The nominee is expected to be announced on Truth Social by Wednesday, inheriting a hollowed-out leadership structure marked by yearlong turmoil.

• Edmonton-born startup Smart Access raised $12 million in Series A funding from Bay Area investors Lobby Capital, Aspenwood Ventures, and Coelius Capital to expand its digital workforce management platform. • The company, co-founded by Tim Regnier and John White, helps large distribution operations optimize training, safety programs, and adherence to standard operating procedures across their workforce. • Smart Access, which relocated its operating base to San Francisco while maintaining Edmonton roots since its 2015 founding, plans to scale deployments across North America using the new capital.

• Dell reduced its workforce by 10% over the past fiscal year, contributing to nearly 40,000 tech layoffs across Silicon Valley firms in 2026. • The cuts reflect broader cost-cutting measures in the US tech industry amid economic pressures and shifting priorities. • Silicon Valley giants continue significant staff reductions, signaling challenges in sustaining growth post-AI boom.

Health service in England has saved more than £14bn hiring from overseas, report says, as doubt is cast on aim to reduce international recruitment to 10%Ministers’ plans to cut the international workforce within NHS England appear overambitious, MPs have said, as a report reveals the health service saved more than £14bn by recruiting doctors, nurses and midwives from overseas.Many of the countries recruited from were struggling with staff shortages, and the UK had a moral duty to offer support, rather than simply extracting what it needed, the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on global health and security found. Continue reading...