Trump is in Charge. Tariffs are in. AI is upon us. Disasters Looming

Opendoor chair says the company currently has 1,400 employees but only needs 200 of them

Keith Rabois, cofounder and new chairman at Opendoor Technologies, says the company is so "bloated" it could cut the vast majority of its workforce.

"There's 1,400 employees at Opendoor. I don't know what most of them do. We don't need more than 200 of them," Rabois said, adding, "the company is completely bloated."

Opendoor, which buys and sells homes, is currently making waves as the latest high volatility meme stock beloved by retail traders.  Rabois, who is also managing director at the VC firm Khosla Ventures, told CNBC Opendoor's culture was "broken," citing remote work and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Meanwhile, the CEO of ConocoPhillips has announced layoffs of 25% of its workforce. The disastrous consequences of Trump's haphazard tariffs include a slowdown in both oil production and demand this year, which is not what Trump's "Drill, Baby Drill" promised.

The layoffs announced by ConocoPhillips, the nation’s third-largest oil producer, earlier this month underscore the wider issues facing oil producers in this country. The company announced restructuring that would reduce their workforce by 20% to 25% before the end of the year.

ConocoPhillips isn’t the only major oil company experiencing layoffs. Boe Report noted that BP, Chevron, Halliburton and SLB have all cut staff because of unspecified "external forces".

The culpable may be OPEC+ inventories and increased production, leading to an expectation of prices hovering around $51 a barrel in early 2026. It also included a prediction that, next year, rising natural gas prices and falling oil prices will result in crude oil trading “at its lowest premium to natural gas since 2005.”

But Trump tariff's induced inflation also dealt a blow to the oil industry. Crude oil was trading at around $80 before Trump took office earlier this year, highlighting the “volatile” effect the trade wars have taken on oil prices. 

Finally, the implementation of artificial intelligence platforms across a wide range of industries is leading to massive layoffs, which explains the very tepid gains in August employment numbers. As we move into Trump's second year in office, it looks like the eruption of artificial intelligence into human life during Trump2.0 is the equivalent of the Covid-19 pandemic eruption during Trump1.0