Workforce Planning: Iowa employers say job openings are increasingly driven by replacement needs as workers leave the labor force or switch roles, with manufacturing seeing the biggest pressure. HR Leadership Spotlight: Prairie Meadows HR vice president Gina Vitiritto was named Central Iowa’s HR Professional of the Year, highlighting long-term people-first leadership. Healthcare Access & Benefits: Virginia warns some refugees and asylum seekers will lose Medicaid and SNAP access as federal rules change, raising staffing and support challenges for local nonprofits and HR-adjacent services. Layoffs & Restructuring: Disney President Dana Walden called recent layoffs “extremely painful” but necessary, with reports that hundreds of corporate roles were cut. Labor Relations: Volkswagen is escalating restructuring tensions with IG Metall, invoking clauses tied to socially responsible headcount reductions. Digital HR Ops: Qatar cut sick-leave processing from 81 working hours to about one hour by integrating Mawared and e-Jaza systems. Workplace Policy: La Union (Philippines) plans a four-day workweek for many offices starting Oct. 5 to ease transport-cost strain. Recruiting Tools: Workable launched native WhatsApp integration to keep candidate conversations inside the hiring record.