Background: Entain is the London-listed betting giant behind Ladbrokes and Neds, two of Australia’s biggest online bookies. Last year, it had nearly 2 million Aussie customers, giving it roughly 17% market share across the local gambling scene.

What happened: Now, Entain has announced a major restructure, cutting 120 jobs across Australia and New Zealand (about 10% of its workforce) as part of a plan to savee around $60 million. And they’re not the only ones tightening belts; Star Entertainment and Crown Resorts have also been trimming senior roles as the entire gambling industry faces rising costs and increasing regulatory pressure.

What else: On top of the job cuts, Entain is winding back several employee perks like requiring staff to return to the office two days a week and ending its nine-day fortnight.

What's the key learning?

💡When unemployment rises and the talent market cools, companies often become a lot less generous. The nine-day fortnight was a post-pandemic perk designed to attract scarce talent when unemployment was at 3.4%. Now that it’s closer to 4.5%, the balance of power is shifting back to employers.

💡As a result of the current labour dynamics, perks introduced during the talent shortage are now getting rolled back. Medibank, Bupa and now Entain have all ditched the nine-day fortnight as competition for jobs increases.

💡So clearly, companies are moving away from "talent-at-all-costs" and back toward leaner operations.