(Part 5 of 5) My Investing Muse (29Jun2026)
My Investing Muse (29Jun2026)
Layoffs, closures and Delinquencies
The software and cloud computing firm says it had around 141,000 full-time employees as of 31 May 2026, down from about 162,000 workers at the same time last year. The "deployment of AI technologies across our operations has resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce," the report says. - BBC
Summary of layoffs by Gemini
The final week of June 2026 saw major workforce reductions driven by aggressive shifts toward AI automation and cooling global consumer demand.
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Automotive: Volkswagen is planning an overhaul that could cut up to 100,000 global jobs. Porsche raised its planned cuts to 3,900 due to crashing margins in China, and Lucid Motors shed 18% (~1,500 roles) to match slumping EV demand.
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Tech & Crypto: Oracle revealed an annual downsizing of 21,000 positions (~13%) as AI automates legacy backend roles. ServiceNow cut hundreds of staff, while Web3 entities Ethereum Foundation and BitGo trimmed 20% and 15% respectively to pivot capital.
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Brands & Gaming: In e-commerce, Lazada laid off 5% of staff to optimise regional margins. In gaming, Bungie slashed 50% of its workforce (400 jobs), and Ubisoft cut 380 roles. Global spirits giant Diageo cut over 300 positions, while Papa John’s trimmed 7% of corporate staff.
While big brands execute massive structural overhauls, broader labour markets remain surprisingly tight, evidenced by US weekly jobless claims dropping lower than expected during the same period.
My muse
Tech leaders like Elon and Tim Cook are highlighting the inflationary pressures that are coming. Given the recent ISM manufacturing price forecast, this is happening in both the short and medium term. Is this temporal?
With the Chinese AI models gaining traction, will the American models lose more market share to the Chinese models? America continues to see more companies using Chinese models. This affects both the costs and the training of the models.
A recent interview with Jeremy Grantham has brought some concerns as he provided a warning about a coming crash and exiting of the markets.
There seems to be more of such warnings i, including Bank of America and JP Morgan. Let us do our own due diligence.
Financial Strategy and Outlook
Let us spend within our means, invest only what we can afford to lose, and avoid leverage. Let us review our current holdings and divest from businesses losing their competitive advantages. Additionally, I will consider adding both hedging strategies and defensive positions to our portfolio to mitigate risk.
As we move forward, it is crucial to conduct thorough due diligence before assuming any new responsibilities.
Wishing everyone a successful week ahead.
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