Hey there! Kristen here, founder of Rockrose Executive Search.
Given the evolving job market, we aim to share the most important news each week to keep professionals informed and ahead of the curve. We hope this empowers you with insights to make smarter career decisions and navigate the future of work with confidence.
Lots of breaking news this week, so this is a slightly longer Rockrose Weekly #3.
Top 5 Signals This Week
1) Trump Secures $600 Billion Investment Commitment in Saudi Arabia
President Donald J. Trump announced Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion commitment to invest in the United States on May 13, 2025.
The deal includes:
- The largest defense sales agreement in history, nearly $142 billion, providing Saudi Arabia with warfighting equipment and services
- $80 billion in investments from tech giants like Google, DataVolt, Oracle, Salesforce, AMD, and Uber to advance transformative technologies across both nations.
- AI breakthrough: Nvidia to partner up with Saudi’s new AI investment arm HUMAIN and to provide 18,000 Blackwell chips.
➤ Why it matters: This deal signals where future jobs and growth are headed—across AI, defense tech, infrastructure, and global enterprise.
And get the inside scoop from Bloomberg TV Anchor Joumanna Bercetche from Dubai.
2) China Tariff Pause Eases Recession Fears
The U.S. decision to pause additional tariffs on China has led Wall Street to scale back its recession predictions. “We believe recession risks are still elevated, but now below 50%.”
➤ Why it matters: A more stable economic outlook may encourage companies to resume or expand hiring plans that were previously frozen amid economic uncertainty.
Full story → https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-china-tariff-pause-has-wall-street-scaling-back-recession-calls-100054918.html
3) Panasonic and Microsoft to Lay Off Workers Globally
Japanese electronics giant Panasonic, which supplies batteries to Tesla, will target 10,000 job cuts worldwide as part of efforts to boost profitability.
Microsoft said it would cut about 6,000 workers across the company. At Microsoft, as much as 30 per cent of some projects’ code is now written by AI, chief executive Satya Nadella said in April.
➤ Why it matters: Layoffs at Panasonic and Microsoft reflect a broader shift in workforce priorities, as automation and AI reshape how work gets done. For job seekers, this underscores the need to upskill in AI, automation, and digital technologies to remain relevant and competitive in an evolving job market.
Continue reading →
- https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/panasonic-layoff-10000-job-cuts-worldwide-5119421
- https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/microsoft-layoffs-hit-coders-hardest-with-ai-costs-on-the-rise
4) Coinbase to Acquire Deribit in Major Crypto Derivatives Push
Coinbase’s acquisition of Deribit creates the most comprehensive institutional crypto derivatives platform, unifying spot, futures, and options trading at global scale. It accelerates Coinbase’s international growth, boosts profitability, and positions the firm as the global leader in crypto derivatives.
➤ Why it matters: This signals a consolidation wave in the digital assets space. In the mid to long term, consolidation brings more career stability and clearer growth paths for talent.
5) TikTok Launches ‘AI Alive’ for Image-to-Video Generation
TikTok has unveiled “AI Alive,” an AI tool that transforms photos into lifelike video avatars using generative AI. The caveat is that AI Alive stories will have an AI-generated label to notify users that the content was created with AI. “We are always building with safety in mind, and the same goes for our AI innovations,” TikTok said in a blog post.
➤ Why it matters: Marketers can now create engaging, high-quality content without needing extensive resources or technical skills, democratising content creation and helping small businesses compete more effectively in the digital space.
Full story → https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/13/tiktok-launches-tiktok-ai-alive-a-new-image-to-video-tool/
Or check out Shou’s demo of AI Alive on Tiktok.
💡 Headhunter’s Lens
Hiring momentum that kicked off earlier this year has slowed as we move through Q2. The imposition of tariffs has further shaken hiring confidence across the board, from startups to large enterprises. To add fuel to the fire, restructuring continues across major firms, citing reasons like flattening org charts, doubling down on AI for productivity, and enforcing return-to-office policies as justification for more layoffs.
But this week brought a glimmer of optimism. A 90-day suspension of tariffs between the US and China signals a positive shift and could lower the probability of a US recession to around 45%, according to Steve Cohen, founder of Point72 Asset Management. Global stock markets rallied on the news, and we hope the 90-day tariff suspension will lead to something more lasting and set the stage for a stronger hiring outlook in H2.
🚀 Executive Move to Watch
Sterling Anderson → General Motors
General Motors has appointed Sterling Anderson, former Tesla Autopilot lead and Aurora co-founder, as Chief Product Officer, starting June 2. He will oversee the full product lifecycle across gas and electric vehicles, including hardware, software, and user experience. His hiring marks a strategic shift toward enhancing autonomous features in personal vehicles, signalling GM’s focus on modernising and electrifying its product lineup.
Full Story → https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/12/gm-hires-ex-tesla-aurora-exec-sterling-anderson.html
📬 One to Forward
🤖 Michael M. Sayre, co-founder of KABAM Robotics, one of six companies selected for RoboNexus, a National Robotics Programme supporting Singapore-based robotics startups and SMEs, shared insights on the autonomous security robots they’ve built for the real world. Check out what they do here.
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