Today's workplace faces a litany of challenges. Whether it's shifting power dynamics between employers and employees, the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence on how we work and the skills we need, or the financial stresses that employees of all ranks are feeling, these issues and more are challenging the cohesion of workplace communities.
To address these issues, CNBC is convening its premiere council of human resource executives in New York City on Tuesday for the annual CNBC Workforce Executive Summit. The event is exclusive to members of CNBC's Workforce Executive Council.
For more about the WEC and to apply for membership, visit www.cnbccouncils.com/wec.
28 Min AgoDailyPay's Nelson Chai: On-demand pay can help workers with financial strain
DailyPay CEO Nelson Chai speaking at the 2026 CNBC Workforce Executive Council Summit in New York City on October 27, 2026.CNBCAmericans are increasingly finding themselves strapped for cash amid the rising costs of groceries, gas and everyday expenses.
That is leading more companies to begin to offer earned wage access as a benefit, which allows employees to access money they've already earned ahead of payday
Nelson Chai, the CEO of on-demand pay platform DailyPay, told CNBC's Sharon Epperson about how the company's model works.
"We have over 2,000 of the largest companies, including many that you've heard of, and we really go in and partner with them," he said.
"If you had to wait 14 days to get paid, tomorrow you could go in and you could have access to your wages," he said.
Employees are able to access their wages in a few different ways, he said. One option is to use the Daily Pay debit card, another is to do an ACH transfer, and another is to do a transfer to the bank of the employee's choice.
"After you've taken out what you want to take out, then we send you the remainder of pay at the time of the normal paycheck," he said.
"It's about meeting the workers where they are," he added.
-Colleen McKown
49 Min AgoDigital transformation is “two of the worst words ever used in the history of work” – former LinkedIn CHRO Steve Cadigan
When Steve Cadigan was LinkedIn's chief human resources officer, he told CNBC's Leslie Picker at the 2026 CNBC Workforce Executive Council Summit that a common trope at the networking platform was that whenever another company announced it was going through a digital transformation, that meant job cuts were on the horizon.
"Let's look at all the people in the company that just announced a digital transformation and see who's looking for a new job," Cadigan told Picker. "When you tell employees we're going through a digital transformation, you're basically saying, 'Well, we care about the technology, not about you.'"
While companies have heavily invested in AI tools, Cadigan said many have not "built the trust to get people to the point where they can say, 'Yeah, just go ahead and reinvent your job; we got your back.'"
As more companies signal AI-driven job cuts, Cadigan said many employees see the first implementation of AI as "cutting people in the name of AI."
Instead, Cadigan stressed that organizations need to promise to workers that they are investing in their growth and development, and that while they can't predict how AI will change their jobs or their future employment, these companies will "grow and develop you … we're going to make you a better human being and a better professional, and if things don't work out here, you're going to be a better person on the other side."
"That's a bigger promise," he said.
— Ian Thomas
1 Hour AgoThe CNBC Workforce Executive Council Summit is underway!
The entrance of the 2026 CNBC Workforce Executive Council Summit in New York City on October 27, 2026.CNBCThe programming has kicked off here in New York: first up is Steve Cadigan, the creator and author of the Human Advantage Framework, a research-informed framework for understanding, assessing, and developing the human capabilities that matter most in the age of AI.
Cadigan will be speaking with CNBC's Leslie Picker about how AI is reshaping work and how employers need to equip employees to adapt to this fast rate of change.
2 Hours AgoHealth insurance costs are growing, with no end in sight
watch nowVIDEO10:0310:03Rising costs of health benefits: Total cost per employee expected to rise 8.2% in 2027Squawk BoxMost Americans under age 65 — about 166 million people — get health insurance via employer-sponsored health plans.
That is generally subsided by their employers, who cover a large portion of the monthly premium payments workers pay. The average worker paid $6,850 of annual premiums in 2025, while employers contributed more than $20,000 per worker, according to KFF.
In 2027, the cost for employers to provide health benefits will rise by an estimated 8.2% per worker, on average. That represents the largest increase since 2003, even with additional cost-reduction measures by employers, according to Marsh.
Aon, another consulting firm, expects employer costs to jump 9.5% in 2027 — the fourth consecutive year of "elevated" healthcare costs, "extending one of the most sustained periods of health care inflation employers have faced in decades," the firm said in a press release in August.
Growth in the cost of deductibles and family premiums has each outpaced inflation over the past decade, rising 54% and 53%, respectively, versus an overall inflation rate of 36%, according to KFF.
All of those cost increases are likely leading to cuts in benefits next year for workers who are covered by plans from their jobs: Nearly 6 out of 10 employers — 59% — plan to make cost-cutting changes to health benefits in 2027, including by adding higher deductibles, according to Marsh. It polled more than 1,800 employers from June 10 to August 10.
HealthEquity CFO James Lucania will be speaking later today at the CNBC Workforce Summit about how CHROs and benefits managers can use AI to streamline healthcare costs, and at the same time, make out-of-pocket payments easier for employees to understand and manage, all while helping each of them get the care they need.
2 Hours AgoAI is fueling uncertainty in the job market
A sign on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington, US, Oct. 26, 2026. David Ryder | ReutersThere are many forces changing the workplace. But few are having the impact that AI is, shifting roles and job expectations, as well as headcount.
Microsoft announced this week that it is offering voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees, a measure that comes as the company strives to balance a costly AI build-out with efficiency.
The software company has been ramping up its spending on data centers to accommodate high AI computing demand as it supplies cloud services to a number of AI companies. The offer follows a voluntary retirement program announced at Microsoft this past spring and 4,800 jobs cut in July.
American Express said last week that it would be cutting thousands of employees as the leading credit card company prepares for artificial intelligence to take over more of its internal processes.
Amex is eliminating 5% of its global workforce and taking a $336 million restructuring charge, CEO Stephen Squeri told analysts Friday on the company's third-quarter earnings call. The firm had almost 77,000 employees at the end of 2025.
Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec told CNBC in an interview that the restructuring was to make American Express "leaner, more agile, and also to prepare for AI."
"You don't want to automate processes that are not optimally structured," Le Caillec said. "So what we're doing here is to reduce layers and increase spans of controls, so that we can automate and take advantage of AI in the coming quarters and the coming years."
The Amex announcement reflects a broader trend across financial services, where banks are working to replace repetitive roles with AI automation. On Thursday, Barclays confirmed plans to trim 5,000 jobs — also roughly 5% of its staff — in another tech-driven cost initiative. The moves come even as the sector is enjoying robust profits from growing consumer spending and resilient credit.
Skydance also announced voluntary buyouts following its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a step driven largely by the consolidation, but it also comes as executives acknowledge that AI will transform the company.
In addition, Qualcomm cut jobs earlier this month as the company pivots towards AI data centers and non-smartphone markets.
-Colleen McKown
2 Hours AgoWhat role do cities play in AI oversight?
watch nowVIDEO4:5104:51NYC council speaker: Need for regulation was big takeaway from NYC AI hearingThe ExchangeEarlier this month, the New York City Council held a legislative investigation concerning artificial intelligence safety risks, with senior leaders from Anthropic, OpenAI,Google and Metatestifying under oath about the potential dangers of the technology and outlined current safety measures.
The hearing took place amid the intense debate surrounding the risks posed by advanced AI models. It also came as the questions over who is responsible for keeping the technology in-check also grow.
With concerns over the federal government's oversight of AI abound, cities are stepping up. New York City Council speaker Julie Menin opened that hearing by singling out the federal government's light-touch approach to AI after President Donald Trump signed a voluntary accord with tech leaders in Washington last week.
"The idea that artificial intelligence is going to self-regulate defies all reason," she said at the hearing.
Menin, who is appearing at today's Workforce Executive Summit, told CNBC's Kelly Evans on "The Exchange" following the hearing that one of the biggest takeaways was that the AI labs "really weren't able to answer some of the most rudimentary questions, such as what is the risk of a cataclysmic event happening? What do they feel the risk is? Will they agree, for example, not to release any new model that hasn't passed an internal or third-party validator safety check?"
"I think what really came out of the hearing is the need for regulation," Menin told Evans. "We have to remember that the pharmaceutical industry doesn't self-regulate; they have the FDA. The airline industry doesn't self-regulate; they have the FAA, and similarly, we need to ensure that with artificial intelligence, we have smart safeguard rails in place."
Menin told Evans that much of the responsibility when it comes to legislating AI will fall to localities, and she hopes that some of the legislation New York City is putting into effect will serve as a blueprint for other jurisdictions.
"We certainly hope the federal government will opt to regulate," she said, adding that she sees one of the most important regulations as the issue of third-party regulation. "You cannot have these companies self-select a validator," she said.
Menin added that she does not want to stifle innovation, but cautions that "with innovation, really comes responsibility, and I think it actually instills faith and confidence in the products that these companies are releasing, the new models that they're releasing, if we have smart and sensible safeguards in place."
-Colleen McKown
3 Hours AgoWhat's on the agenda at CNBC's 2026 WEC Summit
Jada Pinkett Smith in conversation with CNBC's Carl Quintanilla at the Workforce Executive Council Summit in New York City on Nov. 14, 2023.CNBCCNBC has convened workforce leaders and industry experts to discuss the variety of forces changing the workplace.
Here are some of the discussions on today's agenda:
Steve Cadigan, Human Advantage Framework creator and author, is joining CNBC's Leslie Picker for a conversation about how AI is reshaping a workforce ready for change, how leaders can bolster the people skills AI cannot provide and ways to equip employees to successfully adapt and adjust to the rapid pace of change.
Nelson Chai, DailyPay CEO, will join CNBC's Sharon Epperson to discuss the challenges employees face staying financially afloat amid the rising costs of groceries, gas and everyday personal expenses. Chai will share ways employers can help workers deal with ongoing financial strain.
Maren Waggoner, Walmart's chief people officer of digital & associate experience, will speak with CNBC's Leslie Picker about why Walmart is "people-led and tech-powered," why AI is a work design issue and not a technology issue and how talent leaders can ensure that they're not just deploying AI to employees but rather giving them the ability to use AI to redesign their own work.
Jill Bruning, Amentum chief technology officer and Jacob Pat, Lovesac chief technology and digital transformation officer, two members of CNBC's Technology Executive Council, will join CNBC's Susan Caminiti to share their tech-centric perspectives on how companies can harness the power of AI while keeping the human needs of the workforce front and center.
James Lucania, HealthEquity CFO, joins CNBC's Annika Kim Constantino for a discussion on ways CHROs and benefits managers can use AI to streamline healthcare costs, and at the same time, make out-of-pocket payments easier for employees to understand and manage, all while helping each of them get the care they need.
Wes Burke, Care.com CHRO, Kerri Eskin, Cotiviti chief people officer, and Amy Segal, The Team managing director, join CNBC's Sharon Epperson to discuss how AI is redefining what makes a great employee and how they're attracting the right workers in this tech-powered moment.
Julie Menin, New York City Council speaker, recently brought leaders from the biggest AI companies together to answer questions under oath on safety and the risks of things going wrong. She'll join CNBC's Leslie Picker to discuss what cities can do if the federal government fails to act.
Dan Harris, author, podcaster and former ABC News anchor, will join CNBC's Susan Caminiti to discuss how we can turn down the volume on our inner critics, let go of the relentless push to do more and learn to be a little kinder to ourselves while still being effective.
-Colleen McKown
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