By Forbes Staff,Maria Gracia Santillana Linares
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Over 800,000 federal employees could be furloughed if the government shuts down on Tuesday.
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A looming government shutdown has Washington and Wall Street on edge as congressional leaders met with President Donald Trump yesterday with no set plan.
Beyond the effects on government programs, it’s federal employees who would bear a brunt of the impact. A shutdown would furlough federal employees, though many are already working their last day today as part of the deferred resignation program first offered in January by the Trump Administration—more on that below.
But the administration has also threatened mass firings of federal staff should the government shut down, according to Reuters. Under their plan, non-essential activities like onboarding of new employees and publishing of labor and economic data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics would halt. Essential services like Medicaid and Medicare, Pell grant loans and medical services at the Veterans Affairs department would continue. Another ominous sign for government workers: Employees overseeing firings in their departments will also continue their duties.
We’ve got a jam-packed newsletter this week, with advice on how to deal with your employer’s co-CEOs, a look into how TikTok’s algorithm was created and a dispatch from Forbes’ 30 Under 30 summit in Columbus, Ohio. Happy reading, and have a lovely week!
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DEEP DIVE: So You’ve Got Two CEOs. Now What?
More companies are being headed by joint chief executives as multi-billion dollar firms like Netflix, Salesforce, Oracle and Comcast decide two leaders at the top are better than one. What does this mean for rank-and-file employees?
Does your company have two CEOs?
The practice has increasingly become more common in the last year, with the likes of Comcast and Oracle announcing the change. Just today Spotify became the latest public company to announce two CEOs. On Tuesday, founder Daniel Ek announced he’d be stepping down after two decades in the role, with co-presidents Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström slated to take their new roles on January 1.
Like any executive change, a transition to co-CEOs is a change in leadership styles and priorities. “Every CEO shapes the job to their skills,” says Michael Jenkins, partner at global management consulting firm Kearney.
Yet having co-CEOs is still “an anomaly,” according to Anup Srivastava, professor and Canada research chair at University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business. “But it makes sense today because the competencies required to lead a company are more complex.”
Many companies, especially those in the Fortune 500, are expanding their scope, with more and more adopting technological capabilities as part of their offerings. That means CEO responsibilities are widened, with each executive taking the helm of a subset of departments or business lines. At Comcast, for example, incoming co-CEO Mike Cavanagh oversaw the spinout of NBCUniversal’s cable networks.
This division of labor can be very influential for employees, says Jenkins. In order to reach different parts of the business, co-CEOs tend to specialize in different areas, splitting operational and fundraising duties with product and marketing ones, among other combinations. That means employees across the ranks of senior leadership can now see themselves as future CEOs, if they want, says Jenkins.
“The succession path to the top role in an organization has widened,” he adds.
Though not much should change day-to-day operations, emphasizes Srivastava, especially if the top executives prioritize a unified front.
It’s what Jenkins calls presenting an appearance of unity in a Harvard Business Review piece he coauthored. “Disagreement among coequals can lead to confusion and indecision throughout the organization,” he wrote.
News from the world of work.
Have you ever wondered how the TikTok algorithm was created? As President Donald Trump announced the partial sale of TikTok to U.S. investors, Forbes’ Emily Baker-White tells the story of how twenty-something content curators refined the algorithm powering the app’s “For You” page, which was not sold to investors.
Non-U.S. AI startups are cashing in on President Trump’s new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, report Forbes’ Richard Nieva and Rashi Shrivastava. The hefty fee will make it harder for American startups to hire foreign talent, while also allowing companies overseas to more easily recruit for senior leadership roles.
Amid a bleak job market, healthcare continues to offer opportunities for growth as the number of openings pushes job growth. So it’s worth networking and exploring the field, especially for those looking for a change in career or for students thinking about job opportunities, writes contributor Harry Kraemer.
A new report says holiday retail hiring could hit its lowest point since 2009, with retailers hiring fewer than 500,000 positions in the last three months of the year. Retail companies are facing a number of challenges this year, from looming tariffs to inflationary pressures, and an increasing reliance on automation and permanent staff rather than seasonal hires.
Startup founder Charlie Javice was sentenced to seven years in prison on Monday after pleading guilty to deceiving JPMorgan. The former 30 Under 30 lister was found to have fabricated customer data while raising funds from the bank. The case serves as a learning lesson for both entrepreneurs (don’t manufacture data) but also investors conducting due diligence checks.
’ annual 30 Under 30 summit is officially underway in Columbus, Ohio. Keep up with our live blog coverage to hear what some of the brightest young entrepreneurs, from Poppi’s cofounder to the youngest self-made woman billionaire, have to say.
NUMBER TO NOTE
That’s how many federal workers accepted President Trump’s deferred resignation offer and are logging into their final day of work today, the single largest exodus of civil servants in nearly 80 years.
Why It’s Not A Leader’s Job To Have All The Answers
As part of a major restructuring plan, a coffee chain will shut down 1% of its stores (several hundred) and cut 900 non-retail jobs by the end of this fiscal year. Which coffee chain is it?
A. Starbucks
B. Dunkin’ Donuts
C. Peet’s Coffee
D. Tim Horton’s
Check if you got it right here.
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