Employers Retract Workplace Perks And Advance Performance Based Pay

US employers are scaling back wellness perks, reinstating in-office mandates, and tying promotions and pay to measurable impact, the article reports in a post-pandemic shift. Companies including Meta, Citi, AT&T, Palantir, and Shopify are cited, while rising employer health costs (6.7% increase) and roughly $320 billion in projected US AI spending help explain cautious hiring and emphasis on productivity.