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A lawsuit alleges an algorithm chose who got laid off at Meta, and allegedly targeted staff on protected medical leave. Volkswagen's threatened cuts just became a confirmed number. And a new phrase, the forever layoff, is giving language to something a lot of HR leaders have felt for a while.

This week's Paper Cut covers: the Meta AI layoff lawsuit and what it means for algorithmic accountability at the point of termination, not just hiring; Volkswagen's confirmed 50,000 job cuts after its board rejected plant closures; the "forever layoff" phenomenon, early retirements, and the parallel labour shocks hitting China's graduates and factory workers; and how job-hugging, RTO-as-pay-cut, and Gen Z job-scrolling are fraying the employment relationship even where nobody's been made redundant.

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