HR Leader’s top 10 tech stories for 2025

Read here our 10 most-read stories about technology, AI, automation, and cyber crimes for this year.

10. ‘Skills are now the currency of hiring’: LinkedIn launches AI-powered recruiting agent

Late this year, LinkedIn launched its hiring assistant – designed to automate certain recruitment processes, lifting the weight from the workloads of HR departments, and streamlining processes. This story delves into the importance of workforce planning and how the assistant works.

9. Return-to-work period is ‘prime time for cyber crimes’, government warns

First reported on by our sister brand Cyber Daily early this year, this story delves into warnings made by the nation’s special envoy for cyber security and digital resilience, about cyber attacks, as staff made a return to the office. In this story, the envoy, Dr Andrew Charlton provided recommendations for workplaces and workers on how they can stay safe against cyber criminals.

8. Workers want better AI tools, research says

Research released in October revealed that AI-native workers were largely less satisfied than their non-AI-native counterparts about the AI tools that they were provided at work. For this story, head of Zoom ANZ, Bede Hackney, unveiled ways that organisations can effectively implement AI at work and the gaps that organisations need to fill to keep up with the rest of the globe’s AI transformation.

7. Atlassian says Australian employees axed in mass redundancies, denies AI is replacing jobs

Next up, also first appearing on Cyber Daily was a story on major Aussie technology firm Atlassian’s announcement of the removal of 150 Australian workers from its payroll in early August. The story goes into the company’s emphasis on forgetting “jobs of the past”, to embrace “the Australian AI revolution,” and its denial that AI is replacing jobs at the firm.

6. Update Fair Work Act to cover AI and automation, report says

In a report from early in the year, a committee in the House of Representatives tabled its The Future of Work report, which followed an inquiry that went into the digital transformation of workplaces. The story dives into the report’s findings and recommendations – reflecting on the “double-edged” sword of regulation in the digital transformation space and its insufficiencies.

5. Atlassian terminates 150 staff (who will largely be replaced by AI) with prerecorded video

In late July, the Atlassian CEO announced mass redundancies in a prerecorded video to all of its staff. The story predates number 7 on our list, detailing what really happened and how similar circumstances unfolded at Commonwealth Bank around the same time.

4. AI discrimination lawsuit against Workday moves to collective action

In a case that delves into “disparate impact theory,” this story from May continued the saga surrounding a job applicant who filed a lawsuit against Workday. Grounds for the application were based on the alleged “discrimination” within Workday’s systems, after the applicant alleged he was rejected for over 100 jobs for which he applied on the platform.

3. Telstra clarifies 550 job cuts ‘not a result of our adoption of AI’

Telstra confirmed 550 job cuts in July after announcing its Connected Future 30 strategy two months prior. This story dives into what the telecommunications company aimed to achieve from this retrenchment, what unions thought about these changes, and the government’s reflections on AI.

2. AI-driven job cuts on the cards for Telstra

In May, Telstra announced its Connected Future 30 strategy, which included plans to “evolve” and further increase its AI implementation strategy. The story also delved into what the unions thought about the company’s plans to shrink its workforce by 2030 in a five-year plan.

1. Millions could be compensated over major Qantas data breach

For our top tech story, we explored a major cyber attack that was launched on Qantas in July, which led to a significant data breach – first reported on by Cyber Daily. This story explores how a national law firm pursued compensation from the national carrier on behalf of millions of impacted customers and included commentary on the legal challenges faced as a result of this hack and the progression of the case.