2025-03-06T14:32:17Z Read in app Mustafa Suleyman will report directly to Satya Nadella Ethan Miller This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.Happy almost Friday! If you're indulging in a Thirsty Thursday Do people still call it that? don't be surprised if happy hour looks a bit gray. While millennials and Gen Zers are cutting back on booze, the number of boomers tipping one (or a few) back is rising.In today's big story, Microsoft is rethinking how it evaluates employees and handles underperformers.What's on deck:Markets: The jobs report is tomorrow, but don't expect a DOGE-sized drop in numbers. Here's why.Tech: Meta's got a list of ex-employees it won't rehire.Business: Lulu Cheng Meservey's brash PR tactics annoy some of her peers, but her big-name clients can't get enough of it.But first, HR is going to join us for this one.If this was forwarded to you, The big storyUnder review Microsoft; Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI Microsoft's performance review is on a PIP.The tech giant is rethinking how it evaluates employees, according to Business Insider's Ashley Stewart, who spoke to several people with knowledge of the plans.The result could be Microsoft taking a tougher stance on employees deemed low performers. Evidence of that came earlier this year when Microsoft made hundreds of performance-based cuts in January and February.In many ways, it's a blast from the past for Microsoft, which once had a reputation for conducting tough reviews. The arrival of Satya Nadella as CEO more than a decade ago changed that, with the company taking a softer stance. Some even called Microsoft a "country club."Microsoft's current process for managing out low performers can take months of documentation. One high-level manager told Ashley the average time to exit a low performer after a manager notified HR was about seven months. That process can be further delayed if an employee takes a leave of absence, which can reset the clock.But with the AI race heating up, Microsoft wants to move faster and more efficiently. Like its peers Meta, Amazon, and Google, that's meant taking a deeper look at its performance review and management process. Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI Microsoft's potential pivot also shows where AI's had the most impact thus far.Since ChatGPT's arrival a few years ago, there's been plenty of speculation about all the jobs that were at risk of being automated away by AI.The reality, though, is the tech isn't advanced enough to replace most roles completely. Efficiencies can be achieved that allow a company to cut some headcount, but AI hasn't completely wiped out jobs in most cases.In fact, the industry AI is disrupting the most is the one building it: tech.It's not just a matter of AI automating people's jobs. (Although those are looking dicey for software engineers.) The massive bets tech giants are making on AI are forcing them to recalibrate their entire operations to be as streamlined as possible, and those changes don't come easy.Perhaps the shift was always coming. The rise of interest rates and the maturation of these companies might have naturally led to a stage of buckling down.But spending billions on tech that hasn't fully panned out from a business perspective certainly didn't slow things down.News briefAlito says he's 'stunned' the Supreme Court ruled against Trump over USAID's funding.Outgoing Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen lost $11 million in bonus and stock payments when he resigned from the grocery chain.Trump told Congress that Musk runs DOGE and the lawyers noticed.Instagram says it's 'doubling down' on DMs. This chart shows just how much.Add the teachers' union to the list of investors worried about Tesla's sliding stock.Media leaders tell BI how they're tackling a crisis that's bigger than Trump.Tripledot Studios in a $900 million deal, sources say.3 things in markets ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images 1. Federal workers' layoff pains will be mostly invisible in Friday's jobs report. DOGE's February firings won't be reflected in the Bureau of Labor Statistics report because of the cuts' timing. And even though the job losses will appear in a more distant report, they probably won't make a big dent overall.2. Are we on the verge of a "Trumpcession"? Wall Street exec Jeffrey Solomon is part of a small but growing group of forecasters using the dreaded R-word: recession. In an interview with CNBC, Solomon said a trade war could impact supply chains and prompt business leaders to pump the brakes on dealmaking. Some signs already point to an economic slowdown, and Solomon isn't alone in waving the red flag.3. Brevan Howard is telling investors the "true risk" is not getting in on crypto. For years, institutions have kept their distance from digital assets. Brevan Howard's CEO told BI the tipping point for institutional investors is on the horizon, thanks to the boost provided by President Trump and crypto czar David Sacks. The firm, whose digital assets unit was up more than 52% in 2024, wants to be the go-to place for crypto-curious institutions.3 things in tech Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI 1. Meta keeps "block" lists of ex-employees. Hiring managers at Meta sometimes pursue laid-off workers for rehire. They express interest, set up a screening call and then ghost. That's because some ex-employees are on lists that deem them "ineligible for rehire," even if they have a written track record of exceeding managers' expectations. BI's story elicited a reaction from former Google HR chief Laszlo Bock.2. Google Search is going AI Mode. The tech giant said it plans to test a new "AI Mode" feature for Search that aims to answer users' queries with "a wider and more diverse" set of AI-powered results. Instead of AI Overviews, which respond to queries with a direct answer at the top of the results page, the new AI Mode takes things a step further by generating an entire page.3. Big events for big ratings. TV networks have been struggling with maintaining their audiences for years. But BI's Peter Kafka picked up on a pattern to get more eyes: streaming must-watch live sports and awards shows. The most recent Oscars, the Super Bowl, and the Olympics got bumps in viewers, and streaming was part of their equation.3 things in business Michelle Rohn for BI 1. Meet the PR pitbull adored by Sam Altman and Bari Weiss. Lulu Cheng Meservey is one of Silicon Valley's most sought-after communications gurus, known for her unusually aggressive "going direct" strategy. Less enchanted are her PR peers, who aren't sold on her style of bucking convention, tweeting madly, and playing offense with the press. Still, Cheng Meservey won the admiration of startup founders by showing them how she thinks.2. A new DOGE staffer was connected to a fertility clinic and has ties to the pronatalist movement. Miles Collins, whose association with DOGE was first reported by BI, is a startup founder who employees say has been working at the Department of Labor. Collins was connected to a California fertility clinic that's now facing lawsuits accusing it of mistreating employees, although the company has denied wrongdoing. Collins is also the brother of a prominent pronatalist, a movement that Elon Musk has also spoken in favor of.3. A tariff breather for car companies. President Donald Trump is giving the Big Three automakers Stellantis, Ford, and General Motors a one-month pause on his recent tariffs to avoid an "economic disadvantage." But there won't be another break when Trump's second round of trade-related tariffs takes effect on April 2, and additional tariffs on steel and aluminum are coming this month.In other newsA once-hot startup got a $1.5 billion loan. More than $500 million went to a high school dropout's 'sham' hedge fund, judge rules.Instagram cofounder explains how the work of a software engineer will change in the next three years.Are you worth $10 million? $100 million? Chances are you live in the US.Elon Musk says the Post Office and Amtrak should be privatized.Where you can cash in on Florida's cooling housing market.RFK Jr. says vitamin A could help treat measles. Here's what doctors think.Millennial moms want more kids they just can't afford it.Where to hide right now as tariffs hit markets.While the US and China compete for AI dominance, Russia's leading model lags behind.Crypto insiders say Trump's love for bitcoin is more than a fling even though he may be making an 'unforced error.'What's happening todayMacy's, Costco, and Kroger report earnings.The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.