All down to one
Argentina is the only Latin American team left in the World Cup, and the tournament will still affect your schedule.
Hey there,
I have to admit I was wrong this week. Two issues ago, I celebrated the USA winning its group, but on Monday, Belgium ended their run with a 4-1 win. So much for my predictions.
Argentina is now the only Latin American team left after an exciting comeback against Egypt. They were down 2-0 with about ten minutes to go and managed to score three goals. Colombia lost to Switzerland on penalties the same day. The final is on July 19, so there’s still more action ahead.
Before we move on, a quick update on Venezuela. Recovery from last month’s earthquakes has shifted to rebuilding. The death toll is now over 3,500, with more than 12,000 injured, and a UN-backed report estimates direct damage at nearly $37 billion. The fund I mentioned a few weeks ago is still open for donations, which might matter even more now that the world’s attention is shifting. Here’s the link to donate to Caritas.
There are two other stories worth your attention this week: Microsoft cut thousands of jobs while also funding a 6,000-person AI team, and Amazon has started using AI agents for part of its hiring process.
Let's get into it.
🌐 News Shortlist
1. Argentina Is the Last Latin American Team Standing.
Recap: The Round of 16 wrapped this week. The United States lost 4-1 to Belgium on July 6, ending the host nation's run. Colombia went out to Switzerland on penalties after a 0-0 draw. Argentina came back from 2-0 down to beat Egypt 3-2 and is now the only Latin American team left in the tournament. Argentina plays Switzerland in the quarterfinals on July 11 in Kansas City. The final is July 19 at MetLife Stadium.
This is important if you have Argentines on your team, but it actually matters for everyone. Football in Latin America is a regional affair. Millions of people will keep watching even if their own teams are out. Some might complain about Argentina, but they’ll still tune in.
It’s worth thinking about this for a moment, because it differs from how most US companies view the region. Many treat Latin America as if everyone follows the same calendar, but that’s not true. At the same time, it’s not just about national borders. Pride and passion cross borders in ways you can’t measure on a spreadsheet, and Argentina shows this both on and off the field. They have the highest agency in the region, are great problem-solvers, and are comfortable improvising when things go off track. That’s not by chance. It’s the same qualities that make Argentines strong hires for roles that need ownership and flexibility.
If you have employees anywhere in Latin America, expect productivity to drop until July 19. It’s a scheduling fact, just like how US offices slow down during March Madness. The quarterfinals and semifinals are on weekdays during working hours in the Eastern and Central time zones.
You can try to fight this, or you can plan for it. The teams that handle it best aren’t the ones insisting on business as usual. They move deadlines, avoid scheduling big interviews during matches, and let people watch without pretending nothing’s going on.
Advice: Accept the drop in productivity rather than fight it. Check the match schedule, avoid scheduling important deadlines or final interviews during those times, and let your Latin American team know it’s okay to watch. You’ll make up the hours after the 19th, and you’ll earn goodwill you can’t buy.
2. Microsoft Cut 4,800 Jobs and Funded a 6,000-Person AI Team the Same Week.
Recap: On July 2, Microsoft said it would cut about 4,800 jobs, roughly 2.1 percent of its workforce, with the reductions concentrated in its Xbox gaming division, and about 3,200 roles phased out through fiscal 2027. In the same period, the company committed $2.5 billion and 6,000 employees to a new unit focused on helping customers actually implement AI. Microsoft's chief people officer said the eliminated roles are not being replaced by AI, while acknowledging that AI is changing how the work gets done. The company continues to spend tens of billions on AI data centers.
Those two numbers together tell the story and fit the pattern we've tracked all year. Big Tech isn't so much deleting jobs as repricing and relocating them. Money and people are moving from older divisions into new roles focused on helping other companies use AI. That new implementation team exists because selling an AI model is easy, but getting a company to use it well is much harder. The gap between what AI can do and what companies actually use it for is where these new jobs are found.
For example, one of the fastest-growing roles is someone who works with a customer’s team to figure out why adoption has stalled. Microsoft’s people chief was careful to say the cut roles weren't replaced by software, and that's worth believing: this is a budget being reallocated, not a function being automated out of existence.
For founders, the takeaway is to watch where talented people are going. If Microsoft needs 6,000 people to help companies use AI, the most valuable skill now is a mix of technical know-how and the ability to help teams change how they work. That’s the kind of experienced, judgment-driven talent you can find across Latin America, and it’s more affordable to build a team like this now than it will be in a year.
I’ll add something from our own hiring data. PwC found that workers with AI skills earn 56 percent more than others in the same role. Upwork saw demand for AI skills on its platform jump 109 percent last year. That pay bump isn’t just for listing a chatbot on your resume. When we screen for AI skills, we ask what someone has built with it and what challenges they faced. If they only followed a tutorial, they’re not ready yet. If they solved a real problem, that’s what matters.
This is the same idea behind what I call the 100x recruiter. A great chess player alone loses to AI, and AI alone loses to a great chess player using AI. The real advantage comes when good judgment is already present, whether it’s a recruiter or one of the 6,000 people Microsoft is hiring.
Advice: Don’t see Microsoft’s layoffs as a reason to stop hiring. Instead, look at the 6,000-person team as a guide. The most valuable hire now is someone who can make AI tools work within a team, and you don’t need a Big Tech budget to build that capability.
3. Amazon Put AI Agents in Charge of Part of Its Hiring.
Recap: Amazon released an agentic AI hiring product this year and has moved roughly 200 of its own HR roles to AI agents. The changes come alongside about 16,000 corporate job cuts, following roughly 14,000 in October 2025, which together account for close to 9 percent of Amazon's corporate workforce in three months. The company has framed the shift as part of a broader move to run leaner with AI handling routine tasks.
I have some experience here. I spent two years building an AI recruiter for Lupa before shutting it down, because the candidates we wanted didn’t respond. Good people with options don’t do AI interviews. They self-select out the moment they smell a bot, and the ones who stick around and game the process are disproportionately the ones you don't want. Kill the human touch, and you don't just lose warmth. You change who applies.
There’s a real case for efficiency here, and I won’t deny it. Much of recruiting involves coordination and scheduling, and AI agents handle them well. The risk isn’t the technology itself. The problem arises when the parts of hiring that need a human touch are handed off to software, along with the routine tasks. Screening, first impressions, and how you deliver a “no” all affect how candidates feel about your company. These are often the first things to get automated because they’re easy to script.
Amazon can handle the reputational hit if things go wrong, because it’s Amazon. Most companies can’t. When a candidate has a cold or confusing experience with a small startup, they don't shrug it off as the price of scale. They tell people. And in the markets where we hire, senior talent relies more on reputation and referrals than on job boards.
One helpful way to approach this is to split your hiring process into two parts. That’s how we do it at Lupa. AI handles research, market mapping, call recordings, prep, and recap notes. A person takes care of every conversation, every relationship, and every part of selling the role. Let AI manage logistics, scheduling, and status updates: the things candidates want done quickly. Keep people in charge of judgment and communication. Amazon is focused on volume, but if you’re trying to hire specific people, you need a different approach. If you copy the volume strategy, you’ll lose the candidates you want most. Always protect the human touch at the end.
Advice: Use agents for the mechanical parts of hiring and keep people on the decisions and the communication. Before you automate a candidate touchpoint, ask whether a real person would be comfortable being on the other end. Don't take the human out of Human Resources.
That is it for this week.
Argentina is the region’s last hope in the quarterfinals, and your Latin American team will be watching, no matter which country they’re from. Plan for a dip in productivity through July 19. Microsoft’s story shows that AI is still mostly about shifting money and people, not replacing them, and that the real work is helping companies use these tools. Amazon’s example shows what can happen when you let agents handle hiring, and why companies looking for specific talent should be careful about what they automate.
The trends that change first are the ones to watch right now. That’s the purpose of this newsletter, and it’s also what we help clients with every week at lupahire.com.
Until next time,
Joseph Burns
CEO & Founder, Lupa