• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

A bummer for benefits

It's no secret that the era of generous employee perks is fading. Free food, on-site laundry, and gym subsidies are all becoming less common. Even full-time remote work is becoming increasingly rare.

Amid all the cutting, I really thought certain benefits like paid time off and parental leave would be untouchable.

I was wrong.

Earlier this month, my colleague Polly Thompson reported a bombshell scoop that Deloitte plans to pare back or cut several core benefits for some of its employees. Internal documents and a meeting recording revealed the consulting firm is planning cuts to parental leave, PTO, pensions, and IVF funding for workers in internal support roles such as admin, IT support, and finance.

And it's not just Deloitte.

Zoom is also scaling back its parental leave. Birthing parents now get 18 weeks of paid parental leave, down from 22—24. Non-birthing parents get 10 weeks, down from 16.

Here's the thing: Once a few big companies put the most prized benefits on the chopping block, others may follow suit.

These moves aren't happening in a vacuum. Companies are prioritizing measurable output over loyalty. They are raising performance expectations and tracking AI usage, all with eyes on improving the bottom line.

To be sure, some employees might prefer having their benefits cut rather than losing their jobs altogether.

Just this past week, Meta said it plans to cut 10% of its staff next month and eliminate 6,000 open roles in an effort to "run the company more efficiently."

Employees didn't hold back in their reactions. "Welcome to 28 days of hell," one Meta employee posted on an internal forum, referring to May 20 (the date the cuts are expected to happen).

Also on Thursday, Microsoft said it was offering one-time buyouts to long-serving US employees. The package is aimed at workers who want to retire.

With companies squarely in efficiency mode, they are sending a clear message: Job cuts are en vogue, loyalty is dead, and no benefit is off-limits anymore.

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Pump problems

Surging gas prices are already wreaking havoc on the economy.

The Iran war has sent oil prices skyrocketing, with the impact being acutely felt at the pump. The average price of gasoline jumped to $3.63 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA, up from $2.93 last month before Middle East tensions escalated.

Gas is now above $3 a gallon in every US state for the first time since 2023. (BI's Dan DeFrancesco and Joe Ciolli broke down what happens next for oil prices in a recent live Q&A).

What started as oil-market jitters is now hampering household budgets and impacting everything from gig work to office attendance.

Uber and Lyft drivers told us they're getting more selective about which rides they accept as gas prices rise. That's because Uber and Lyft control fares, meaning drivers can't raise prices when their operating costs go up. Some gig drivers are rejecting shorter, lower-paying trips that burn fuel and instead are chasing longer fares that make the math work.

Meanwhile, EV drivers are having a moment. As gas-powered drivers wince at the pump, electric vehicle owners are taking what some have called a "victory lap." Charging costs haven't surged in step with oil prices. This is giving EV drivers, including those on rideshare platforms, a meaningful cost advantage.

Higher gas prices are also playing a role in the return-to-office debate. For people who drive to work, pricier fill-ups mean less money in their pockets for everything else.

"When gas prices spike, commuting effectively becomes a pay cut," one chief operating officer told us.

While a few employers say they're softening their RTO stances amid rising gas prices, the vast majority are unlikely to change their in-office requirements, particularly in a cooling job market where many workers lack the leverage to push back.

Still, average gas prices are a far cry from their record high above $5 a gallon in June 2022, months after the Russia-Ukraine war began.

But the latest increase is a reminder of how quickly surging gas prices can ripple through the economy.