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North American Edition
2nd September 2026
 
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THE HOT STORY

Cisco accused of fostering a hostile workplace for Muslim staff

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has found that Cisco may have violated the civil rights of its Middle Eastern and Muslim employees by subjecting them to a hostile work environment amid anti-Arab and anti-Muslim comments on internal messaging platforms. A group of Cisco employees called “Bridge to Humanity” (B2H), which had voiced concerns that the company’s technology was provided to the Israeli military for use in Israel’s war on Gaza, alleged that Cisco had not responded to their complaints until they created a 76-page report cataloguing the hate comments they had been subjected to in an internal messaging group called Connected Jewish Network. Jeffrey Wang, a civil rights managing lawyer at the Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) San Francisco Bay-area chapter, said: “Employers have a legal responsibility to address harassment and discrimination fairly and consistently. Workers should not have to fear retaliation or a hostile work environment because of their religion, national origin, or association with protected communities.”
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WORKFORCE

Job openings edge higher as labor market remains resilient

The Labor Department reported on Tuesday that the U.S. labor market remained relatively stable in July, with job openings increasing to 7.27m from a revised 7.18m in June, while layoffs declined, suggesting employers remain reluctant to cut staff despite higher costs and economic pressures. Hiring continues to be modest, with employers adding an average of 61,000 net jobs per month so far in 2026, although that marks an improvement from monthly growth of fewer than 10,000 jobs in 2025, when high interest rates and tariff-related uncertainty weighed on recruitment. The unemployment rate remains low at 4.1%, and unemployment benefit claims have also stayed subdued, but a decline in the number of workers voluntarily quitting their jobs indicates weaker confidence in finding new opportunities. The labor market is also contending with higher energy costs linked to the conflict with Iran, which have added pressure to household budgets. Economists expect the August employment report to show 65,000 new jobs and a slight increase in the unemployment rate to 4.2%.

IRS still searching for nearly 600 IT devices assigned to former employees

The IRS is still unable to locate 594 IT assets assigned to employees who left the agency during a large workforce reduction in 2025, according to a new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Around 22,000 departing staff had been assigned more than 32,000 devices, including laptops, smartphones, and portable printers, and 1,308 were initially listed as missing before the IRS recovered hundreds of them. The watchdog said weak return deadlines, poor reconciliation processes, and incomplete inventory updates contributed to the problem, and warned that unreturned laptops and phones could contain sensitive taxpayer information. It also criticized the IRS for lacking a policy to recover the cost of unreturned equipment. The IRS said there was no evidence former employees had accessed agency networks, and agreed to all four recommendations, including stronger device-return rules, better tracking, and clearer responsibilities for system administrators.
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STRATEGY

Trump backs federal tax incentive to boost U.S. film and television production

President Donald Trump has called on Congress to move quickly to establish a federal production incentive for film and television, backing a bipartisan effort intended to counter the movement of entertainment work to countries including Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. A bipartisan group of House members could introduce legislation as soon as September, with Mr. Trump endorsing the initiative being developed by actor Jon Voight and entertainment industry leaders. The proposal has also received support from the Motion Picture Association, entertainment unions, and lawmakers including Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who argue that a national incentive could make the U.S. more competitive for productions and support domestic jobs. Many states already provide their own incentives, including California, which increased its program to $750m annually last year, but industry advocates are seeking a federal measure to address competition from overseas.
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CYBERSECURITY

AI is forcing companies to modernize aging cybersecurity infrastructure

Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora has highlighted the urgent need for companies to modernize their cybersecurity infrastructure to combat AI-driven threats. "Nothing that was deployed seven or 10 years ago is prepared or ready to handle AI at machine speed," Arora said during an interview with CNBC. He said that there is approximately $1 trillion of global cybersecurity debt that needs addressing to defend against automated attacks. Arora identified the emergence of Anthropic's Mythos model earlier this year as a turning point, because it could be easily used to exploit software vulnerabilities. “I've been trying for eight years to tell customers they're not ready, and [Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei] did it in one event, just by launching Mythos,” Arora said.

OpenAI says its new model can build attacks without human help

OpenAI has said that its upcoming Astra AI model is the company's first to reach the "Critical" cybersecurity capability threshold under its Preparedness Framework. The model is capable of independently discovering and exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities across hardened systems without human guidance, crossing a cybersecurity threshold that until recently belonged largely to expert hacking teams.
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LEADERSHIP

Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell resigns following $2.7bn sale

Yum Brands has announced that Pizza Hut chief executive Aaron Powell has resigned, effective September 1st, following the completion of the restaurant chain’s sale through two transactions worth a combined $2.7bn. Pizza Hut’s U.S. and international operations, excluding mainland China, have been sold to private equity firm LongRange Capital, with Mr. Powell stepping down from his other positions at Yum after leading Pizza Hut globally since 2021.
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INTERNATIONAL

Japan eases overtime rules

Japan has relaxed its overtime regulations in an effort to address labor shortages and enhance business flexibility. Around 40% of employers in Japan are operating under specific labor-management agreements that legally allow monthly overtime of up to 100 hours. Those businesses were however advised by authorities to cap overtime at 45 hours each month; now, labor standards inspection offices will no longer pressure companies that are over the 45-hour limit. The labor ministry said it would "continue to provide the necessary guidance if there is a high risk that health problems caused by excessive work may arise."

Micron's Taiwan unions threaten strike

Unions representing nearly two-thirds of U.S. memory-chip maker Micron's Taiwan staff in Taoyuan and Taichung may strike unless the company overhauls its bonus system and shares more of its profits with workers. Taiwan is Micron's largest manufacturing base, and any stoppage could disrupt chip supply. Unions representing workers in the two cities say that they had nearly 10,000 members among Micron's roughly 15,000 employees there. More than 80% of surveyed members backed strike action, the unions said.

Volvo Cars to close Stockholm office

Volvo Cars is closing its Stockholm office on 1 March 2027. Approximately 450 employees are currently based in the office. Responsibilities are to be relocated to Volvo's Gothenburg headquarters as part ​of an effort to cut costs ​and boost efficiency. The Swedish automaker said concentrating ​resources across fewer local sites would help reduce complexity, ‌and accelerate cross functional collaboration and improve competitiveness. Volvo said it would manage the process in close dialogue with employees and employee representatives. 

Australia to withdraw staff from Macquarie Island

The Australian Antarctic Division will extract personnel from Macquarie Island due to the psychological risks associated with a potential bird flu outbreak. The island, which is currently home to 24 expeditioners, is at the moment free of the H5 strain but could face severe wildlife mortality, similar to a recent event on Heard Island. "We've come to this really difficult decision of withdrawing staff, " federal environment department deputy secretary Sean Sullivan said. "And that's being done primarily for the psychological risks that will be facing staff if they are there for extended periods of time inside a mass mortality event." The research station on the island is located within metres of a 2,500-strong colony of elephant seals.
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OTHER

MapQuest tops App Store after rejecting Lake Ontario name change

MapQuest has risen to the top of Apple’s U.S. App Store free-app rankings after refusing to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America”, following an executive order from President Donald Trump directing the U.S. government to adopt the new name. MapQuest has publicly said it will retain the historic name, while Google Maps has switched to “Lake America” for U.S. users but continues to show “Lake Ontario” in Canada. Apple Maps was still displaying “Lake Ontario” as of September 1st. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has rejected the proposed change, saying Canadians will continue to use the lake’s centuries-old name.
 
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