Oracle’s Big Win, Payroll Market Uplift, AI Hype Cools, and Tech Layoffs Tied to Tax Code

In this episode of Spilling the Tea on HR Tech, Stacey Harris and Cliff Stevenson conduct a wide-ranging conversation covering announcements in the global payroll space, a gigantic contract for Oracle, and a new AI-driven platform for restructuring work. They also touch on what’s behind tech layoffs and a general consensus among practitioners to tone down the AI hype.

Key points covered include:

↪️ Payscale expands into Romania with the opening of the Bucharest Technology Hub, solidifying Payscale’s global expansion and reinforcing its commitment to AI research for innovative compensation solutions.

EPI-USE, a global tech company specializing in implementing SAP solutions, and datascalehr, an AI-native global payroll API vendor, are partnering together to simplify global payroll integrations for multi-national corporations, especially those with employee populations in multiple companies. Hear why companies specializing in integrations and middleware are becoming more and more critical.


Oracle took a risk to be an early mover in the hyperscale market; it has now paid off with a massive $30 billion cloud agreement with OpenAI, the largest cloud agreement for AI to date. Listen for how Oracle anticipated the enormous server space and computing power that AI would demand, positioning itself ahead of the curve even as competitors questioned the move. into the hyperscale market.

↪️ Two factors are driving job layoffs and the increasing use of outsourcing and offshoring in the technology sector: The expiration of Section 174, which allowed for 100% tax deductions for research and development expenses, along with current and projected tariffs.

↪️ Highlights from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council conference in New Orleans, which brought together leaders from businesses of all sizes. A key data point: Women-owned businesses contribute $2.7 trillion to the U.S. economy and employ more than 12 million people. As Stacey says, “That’s not a niche, that’s real impact.

↪️ Reejig announced the launch of Work Architecture, an infrastructure platform that enables organizations to continuously evolve how work is structured, managed, and deployed. The platform accelerates breaks work down into tasks and skills; redesigns roles and org structures without relying on job titles; and importantly, enables skills-based workforce planning at scale.

Jerry Ting, founder and CEO of Evisort, was named Workday’s vice president of agentic AI. He’ll also continue to lead Evisort, acquired by Workday in 2024, which helps extract insights from unstructured data in contracts and other documents.

Don’t miss this exciting thought leader conversation! Follow the hosts and companies mentioned below:

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Stacey Harris
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Cliff Stevenson
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