Hey there,
Something happened this week that doesn’t fit neatly into a headline. AI is officially the #1 stated reason employers are cutting jobs — but it’s also driving the fastest-growing hiring categories on the planet. The data doesn’t contradict itself; it splits the labor market right down the middle.
Meanwhile, Home Depot’s 5-day-a-week office mandate went live last week — and 800 remote workers found out the hard way that “return to office” can mean “we’ll see your badge… or we’ll see you out.” If you’re in a fully remote role at a company that’s been quietly “evaluating” its in-office policy, this week’s issue was written for you.
Oh, and 80% of professionals say they feel unprepared to find a new job. We have thoughts on that.
Today: AI’s dual role in the job market, what the latest Challenger data means for your search, and five remote-first companies actively building teams right now.
In This Issue:
- 🔥 The Big Story: AI — the job killer and the job creator
- ⚡ Quick Hits: 4 major market moves this week
- 🏢 Companies Hiring: 5 remote-first companies actively building teams
- 🎯 Career Signal: 80% of pros feel unprepared — here’s the opportunity inside that stat
- ✅ Quick Win: One LinkedIn move that changes how recruiters find you
🔥 THE BIG STORY
AI Is Now the #1 Reason for Layoffs — and the #1 Driver of New Hires
The March jobs data and the March layoff data landed the same week, and together they tell a story that’s more useful than either one alone.
The headline. U.S. employers announced 60,620 job cuts in March — up 25% from February — and for the first time on record, AI surpassed every other reason cited, accounting for 1 in 4 of those cuts, per the Challenger, Gray & Christmas March report. Technology led all sectors with 18,720 announced cuts. But here’s what most coverage missed: in the same month, employers also announced plans to hire 32,826 workers — a 157% jump from February. That’s not a typo. Read the full story →
The bigger picture. The labor market isn’t shrinking uniformly — it’s bifurcating. AI Engineer is now one of the fastest-growing job categories on LinkedIn. The global economy added 1.3 million AI-related jobs in just two years. Meanwhile, roles that don’t require demonstrated AI fluency are being automated, restructured, or simply eliminated. OpenAI alone is racing toward 8,000 employees by year-end — adding roughly 12 new hires every single day. The companies cutting jobs and the companies hiring aggressively aren’t always different companies. They’re often the same one.
Why this matters: The labor market is rewarding a very specific kind of adaptability — not just knowing AI exists, but being able to prove you’ve used it to do real work faster and better. If your resume, LinkedIn, or portfolio doesn’t clearly answer “how have you used AI in your last role,” you’re competing in the shrinking half of the market. The cutoff between the two halves is widening every quarter.
STAT OF THE WEEK
60,620 → Job cuts announced in March 2026 alone — AI cited as the #1 stated reason, accounting for 1 in 4 of the month’s total (Challenger, Gray & Christmas)
⚡ QUICK HITS
Home Depot’s 5-day mandate went live — and 800 jobs went with it
The policy was announced in January, but last week it became real: Home Depot’s full-time, five-days-a-week office requirement took effect on April 6, alongside the elimination of 800 corporate roles — 650 of which were fully remote positions. CEO Ted Decker cited “speed and agility,” but the numbers tell a cleaner story: the largest share of cuts landed in the technology organization, and most of those people were remote. Get the details → If a company in your sector has been “piloting” a return-to-office policy, this week was a data point worth taking seriously.
GoPro cuts 23% of its workforce
On April 7, GoPro filed an SEC 8-K disclosing plans to cut 145 employees — roughly 23% of its total headcount — as part of a restructuring tied to the launch of its new GP3 chip-powered camera lineup. Cuts begin Q2 and complete by year-end. The company is projecting cost savings of $11.5–$15M, mostly from one-time severance and healthcare payouts. See the breakdown → Consumer hardware isn’t insulated from the AI efficiency wave — and GoPro won’t be the last camera company to figure that out.
Job openings slipped again — down to 6.9 million
The February JOLTS report (released the first week of April) showed total U.S. job openings at 6.9 million, down from 7.2 million in January — a 4.9% decline. That’s still historically elevated, but the direction matters: openings have been trending lower for five consecutive months. Check the numbers → The window isn’t closed — but the job seeker who moves now has a narrower field of competition than the one who moves in Q3.
March hiring plans jumped 157% — here’s the full picture
The same Challenger, Gray & Christmas data that showed 60,620 job cuts also showed employers announced 32,826 planned new hires in March — a 157% surge from February and 149% above March 2025. Caveat: more than one-fifth were seasonal summer jobs. Strip those out and the signal is still positive, just more moderate. Dive deeper → The direction of hiring plans is still the right direction — and after two years of contraction, that matters more than any single month’s number.
🏢 COMPANIES HIRING
Five remote-first teams actively building right now.
TELUS — FlexJobs’ #1 remote company for 2026 — hiring across customer service, bilingual, IT, and research with genuine remote tracks. This isn’t a company that reluctantly offers WFH — it built its talent pipeline around distributed hiring and consistently delivers on it. Explore roles →
GitLab — One of the largest fully remote companies in the world, operating without a central office across 40+ countries. Hiring spans engineering, product management, marketing, and support — from senior engineers to content writers. Browse open roles →
Automattic — The company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Tumblr has been fully distributed since its founding. They hire globally across engineering, product, growth, and operations and are known for one of the most thoughtful remote cultures in the industry. See open roles →
OpenAI — Targeting 8,000 employees by end of 2026 — up from roughly 4,500 today — with new hires in engineering, research, product, sales, and a growing enterprise-facing team. If you’ve been looking for an entry point into the company defining the AI era, the pipeline is very much open. View positions →
Mayo Clinic — Dedicated remote career tracks in health informatics, data analytics, clinical support, and IT infrastructure. With healthcare driving 47.5% of all U.S. job growth in 2025, this is one of the most stable hiring pipelines in the country — and you don’t need a clinical background for most of these roles. Explore remote jobs →
Know someone between jobs? Forward this section — it might be exactly what they need.
🎯 CAREER SIGNAL
LinkedIn’s latest research dropped a number that should stop you mid-scroll: 80% of professionals say they feel unprepared to find a new job in 2026. Nearly half don’t know how to stand out — not just entry-level candidates, but mid-career and senior professionals too. And yet, over half plan to change jobs this year. The gap between “needs to move” and “feels ready to move” has never been wider. That’s the opportunity. In a market where most candidates feel underprepared, showing up with a clear narrative, updated AI fluency signals, and a targeted company list puts you ahead of a significant chunk of the field before you ever hit submit.
🧠 SKILL-BUILDING READS
Three reads worth your time before you apply to anything this week.
“The 2026 Job Search Paradox: Why 80% of Professionals Feel Unprepared Despite Record Application Numbers” — A sharp breakdown of why candidates are submitting more applications but feeling less confident, with specific strategies to close the gap. If you’ve felt like you’re sending into a void, this is the diagnostic you need. Read it →
“How to Put AI Skills on Your Resume in 2026 + Examples” — Goes beyond “include AI on your resume” to show exactly how to format, phrase, and position AI experience so it reads as a credential — not a buzzword. Includes concrete before/after examples across different job types. Read it →
“The Healthcare Hiring Boom No One’s Talking About: 5 Non-Clinical Roles in High Demand” — Healthcare drove 47.5% of all U.S. job growth in 2025, but most job seekers overlook the sector entirely. This covers five non-clinical roles being actively hired — medical writer, health tech customer success, clinical informatics specialist, telehealth coordinator, and digital health consultant — and explains how to reframe existing experience to qualify. Read it →
✅ QUICK WIN
Update your LinkedIn headline to include the specific role title you’re targeting — not just your current job title. Most professionals keep their headline as “[Current Title] at [Company],” which makes them invisible to recruiters searching for candidates who want what they want next. Try something like: “[Current Title] → Targeting [Role] Roles | [One Key Skill].” It takes three minutes, immediately increases how often you show up in recruiter searches, and signals intent without requiring you to do anything else.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
What we’re watching: Whether the 157% March hiring surge translates into visible job postings through April, how many more major employers activate RTO enforcement following Home Depot’s April 6 rollout, and whether AI’s share of stated layoff reasons keeps climbing past 25% in the months ahead.
🎯 BOTTOM LINE
The split in the job market that’s been building for two years just got a number assigned to it: 1 in 4 job cuts in March were blamed on AI — not restructuring broadly, not market conditions generically, but AI specifically. At the same time, employers announced 157% more hiring plans in March than February, and AI Engineer is one of the fastest-growing roles on the planet. The market isn’t dying — it’s sorting. Workers who can demonstrate real AI fluency are moving toward the hiring side of that divide. Those who can’t are drifting toward the other side. If you’re searching right now, the move is the same it’s always been: close the gap between where you are and where the demand is, then act while the window is open. Head to RemoteHunter.com for verified remote job listings and AI-powered tools built to get your resume and cover letter in front of the right people.
Until next week — keep building.
— The RH Team 🤙
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