Shredded: Paylocity, Dayforce, Ribbon AI, Colare, Microsoft, Skydance, eTeam, & More

0:00Hide your kids, lock the doors. You're listening to HR's most dangerous podcast. Chad Soash and Joel Cheesman. Hi kids, it's Cole Cheeseman and I'm bringing you The Shred for the fifth week of October 2026. The Shred is a weekly roundup of what's making headlines in the world of employment.

0:22And now to the news in no particular order. According to a survey, changes in government policies, potential economic recession, and rising wage and healthcare costs present major challenges for U.S. hiring managers in 2026. Consequently, many companies are delaying recruitment decisions until after upcoming election results are clear. Schaumburg, Illinois-based Paylocity has launched Recruiting Optimizer, an AI-powered tool embedded within its recruiting workflow, featuring candidate engagement and talent rediscovery agents. The system automates screening, scheduling, and talent pool matching to increase recruiter productivity and shorten hiring times while keeping human decision makers in control.

1:04Another one. Minneapolis-based Dayforce Inc. has agreed to acquire Toronto-based Ribbon AI Inc. to integrate its voice and video AI interviewing technology into Dayforce agantic recruiting. The move aims to automate candidate resourcing, screening, and engagement for high-volume hiring. Financial terms and closing details were not disclosed. Another one. San Francisco startup Coler launched its hardware-focused technical assessment platform alongside a$2.5 million pre-seed funding round backed by A4 Capital, Garage Capital, and Acadian Ventures. The platform provides customized early-stage screening assessments to help space and manufacturing enterprises efficiently identify qualified engineering talent.

1:53Another one. A report by Goldman Sachs warned that a future economic recession could accelerate AI-driven job losses as companies seek to cut costs. While AI may displace roughly 9 % of U.S. workers, long-term unemployment increases could remain limited as displaced employees transition to new roles. Another one. Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to approximately 60 ,000 eligible employees across the U.S., Canada, India, and the U.K. The decision comes as the company seeks to manage rising capital expenditure costs driven by expanding its artificial intelligence infrastructure in data centers.

2:33Another one. Following its merger, Los Angeles-based Skydance instituted a mandatory five-day in-office policy across all divisions and introduced a voluntary buyout program to reduce headcount. Critics view these measures affecting entities like Skydance Games and DC Comics as a strategy to decrease staff without formal layoffs. U.S.-based global workforce solutions provider E-Team has acquired Signify Technology, a U.K. recruitment firm specializing in tech talent. Signify will retain its brand and leadership while leveraging E-Team's global reach and workforce services. The acquisition aims to expand specialist recruitment and technology capabilities.

3:17Financial terms were undisclosed. LinkedIn is testing a simplified navigation interface on desktop and mobile by consolidating function menus into fewer listings. Additionally, the platform is displaying longer text previews for feed posts before requiring a click on the More link to read further. Testing will roll out gradually across different regions and languages. Another one.

4:10from the world of recruiting. Cheeseman out.

4:17Adios, turd nuggets.