Shredded: Intermezzo, Meta, Oracle, LinkedIn, BoomerangHR, Glassdoor, Workday, & More

0:09Hi kids, it's Cole Cheesman and I'm bringing you The Shred for the third week of September 2026. The Shred is a weekly roundup of what's making headlines in the world of employment.

0:23And now to the news in no particular order. Intermezzo, a Menlo Park, California-based global payroll infrastructure company raised$10 million in funding from investors, including Crosslink Capital and UKG Ventures. The capital will be used to expand operations and grow the business reach of its platform. Another one. Meta is introducing an opt-in program asking select individual contributors in its applied AI division to return to management roles. This particularly reverses Meta's recent effort to flatten organizational layers, trim middle management, and create leaner teams following a major restructuring earlier this year.

1:08Austin, Texas-based Oracle expanded its 2026 restructuring plan by$700 million, raising the total estimated cost to$2.8 billion. Driven by mounting AI data center capital expenditures, the increased job cuts and exit fees follow a 13 % workforce reduction linked to AI deployment. A U.S. federal judge dismissed two class action lawsuits against LinkedIn regarding its scanning of users' browser extensions. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs failed to establish legal standing by not alleging any concrete personal privacy violations or private data exposure. According to a proposed class action lawsuit filed September 14, 2026, LinkedIn was sued for alleged market monopolization.

2:02Plaintiffs claim the company forced customers to upgrade to higher tier subscriptions, such as Sales Navigator Advanced Plus, to retain previously included features, reducing purchase value and limiting alternative choices. Another one. LinkedIn is expanding its AI tool, Hiring Assistant, beyond sourcing into candidate pre-screening, interview analysis, and recruiter guidance. While recruiters retained final hiring decisions, the expanded AI capabilities significantly narrowed candidate pools and shaped the evaluation criteria used throughout the selection process. Another one. Boomerang HR, a New York-based AI offboarding and alumni management platform led by founder and CEO Jeff Wald, raised$12.7 million in seed funding.

2:51The round was co-led by Kalos Ventures and Album Ventures, with funds targeted for operational expansion and product development. Another one. A new Glassdoor report reveals that 76 % of millennials question their career paths, facing higher rates of burnout, layoff concerns, and job insecurity than other generations. Consequently, many are delaying major life milestones and pursuing additional skills, such as AI training, to improve job stability. Another one. On September 10, 2026, Workday appointed Sarah Kennedy Ellis as Chief Marketing Officer, effective October 5, 2026. Reporting to CEO Anil Boussri, she will oversee global marketing and communications.

3:37Kennedy Ellis previously held marketing leadership roles at Google Cloud, Adobe, and Marketo. Another one. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Mark Takano introduced the 32-Hour Workweek Act, which would gradually reduce the federal overtime threshold from 40 to 32 hours over four years while protecting worker pay. However, passage remains unlikely under current Republican control of Congress. Another one. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, FBI Director Cash Patel defended policy changes allowing victims of prostitution and bestiality to apply. Patel also faced Democratic criticism regarding his firings of agents who investigated Donald Trump and refused to rule out deploying agents to polling locations.

4:27Be sure to tune in to the weekly show for this and more news and commentary from the world of recruiting Cheeseman out

4:37Adios turd nuggets