🔥 Opening Shot

Executives clinging to 2019-era office mandates are in for a rude awakening. This week’s data sends a crystal-clear message: forcing employees back to HQ is often an exercise in self-sabotage. Major firms like Amazon, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs may be ordering five-day office returns, but guess what? One company that tried a full RTO saw half its workforce walk out the door – top performers included.

Hard truth: If you strong-arm people back to their desks, your best talent will find a new desk – possibly in a competitor’s office or in their own home office working for someone else. 

Meanwhile, global-minded leaders are seizing the advantage. Nearly half of CFOs say they plan to relocate parts of their operations abroad in the next year. They’re not doing it for fun; they’re chasing dramatic cost savings and deeper talent benches. When adding a team member in Colombia or Poland costs a quarter of a Bay Area one, the arbitrage is too big to ignore. And we can’t forget the tsunami of AI: from HR to finance, automation is quietly eliminating roles once thought safe. Anthropic’s CEO claims that up to 50% of all entry-level white-collar jobs could vanish to AI within five years.

This isn’t a drill – it’s a wake-up call. The winners in 2025 will be those who adapt fast: embracing flexible work to keep talent, leveraging global teams for efficiency, and reimagining roles before AI does it for them. In the war for talent and efficiency, complacency is a luxury no C-suite can afford.

📌 On the Radar

1. RTO Mandates vs. Reality. A new GAO report highlights what forward-thinking execs suspected: blanket return-to-office mandates often hurt more than help. Companies offering hybrid or remote roles are growing job listings twice as fast as those demanding full-time office presence. And it’s not just about hiring – retention suffers too. A joint study found turnover spiking in S&P 500 firms that pushed strict office returns.

Office hardliners, take note. RTO is not a strategy, it’s a liability. If even Uncle Sam’s data says remote work boosts productivity and retention, why are some leaders still forcing a 2010 playbook in 2025? The smartest execs are asking a different question: “How can we make the office worth the commute?” Those who don’t will learn the hard way as frustrated talent votes with their feet (or their webcams).

2. Offshoring’s CFO Champion. High-cost markets are officially on notice: CFOs are doubling down on offshoring to slash expenses. In fact, 47% of finance chiefs plan to relocate parts of their global value chain in the next year. Recent analysis shows why – companies that stood up new “global capacity centers” have unlocked larger talent pools and significant cost savings. It helps when a U.S. employee at $120K can be matched by equally skilled talent in Latin America for $30K.

This isn’t about “cheap labor” – it’s about smart business. Talent is everywhere, and cost efficiency is king. If you’re a CEO in San Francisco or London paying premium for every role, you’re running out of excuses. World-class talent are thriving in Bogotá, Manila, Kraków – often at a fraction of your current burn. The arbitrage won’t last forever as global salaries creep up, but right now it’s a CFO’s dream. Bold leaders will redeploy headcount where it makes strategic sense, not just where it’s always been. As an operator, I’ll take four high-caliber team members in Egypt over one overpriced hire in Mountain View any day – and my balance sheet will thank me for it.

3. AI’s Growing Bite out of Hiring. The AI revolution in HR and beyond isn’t theoretical – it’s happening in real time. A federal survey finds many HR leaders already using AI to screen resumes and schedule interviews, with 65% of small businesses tapping AI for HR tasks. But the other shoe is dropping: The World Economic Forum projects 83 million jobs will be eliminated by 2027 due to automation (with only 69 million created in return) – a net loss of 14 million jobs. Tech insiders are even more blunt: Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei fears AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in the next five years.

While some HR teams are cheerfully experimenting with AI chatbots, the C-suite needs to grapple with the bigger picture. This isn’t just about efficiency – it’s about a looming talent earthquake. I’ve sat in meetings where a CFO proudly showed how an AI forecasting tool replaced two analysts, and a COO who quietly paused hiring because a SaaS AI handles customer queries overnight. It’s real, and it’s now. The polite term is “humane automation,” but let’s call it what it is: a fundamental resizing of the workforce. Leaders who toss around “reskilling” as a panacea may be kidding themselves. Sure, invest in upskilling – but also be brutally honest about which roles won’t exist in a year. The winners will be those who redeploy people and tech shrewdly. The losers will be those who bury their heads in sand while AI quietly eats their lunch.

📊 Number of the Week

47%

That’s the share of CFOs who say their organizations will explore relocating parts of their operations internationally over the next year. Half of finance leaders are effectively signaling, “We’re going global to hit our numbers.” It underscores a major shift: offshoring and international hiring aren’t just cost-cutting tactics, they’re becoming core to strategy in high-cost economies. If you’re not at least evaluating where in the world your talent should sit, you may be missing the boat.

🚀 One More Thing

Feeling the talent strategy whiplash? 🌎✍️ Whether you’re rethinking your return-to-office stance, eyeing overseas talent to trim costs, or bracing for AI’s impact on your org chart – let’s talk. Reply to this email or reach out on LinkedIn, and let’s swap notes (or war stories) on building a smarter global team. No fluff, no sales pitch – just candid operator to operator insight. In a world where work is borderless and change is relentless, a little clear-eyed strategy goes a long way.

Let’s get ahead of the next curve together.