Trade war could cost half a million Aussie jobs, Virgin Australia to axe 750 workers, and more top news

The news Australian professionals are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation in the comments below.

The Chinese economy is “hurtling toward a hard landing,” and more than 500,000 Australian workers could become collateral damage, The Age reports. Buffeted by the US trade war, the turmoil in Hong Kong, and a potential collapse in its banking system, a significant Chinese economic slowdown is increasingly likely, according to new research. If growth slows as expected, Australia’s unemployment rate could soar to 9.3%. The report’s authors are calling for a diversification of Australian interests “to hedge against the increasing risk of economic fallout.” Here’s what people are saying. 

Virgin Australia is cutting 750 corporate and head office roles after announcing its seventh loss in as many years in the face of higher fuel costs, weaker demand and unhelpful currency movements. Its $315 million full-year loss Wednesday comes after chief executive Paul Scurrah took the reins in March this year. Australia's second largest carrier will also examine its fleet and routes, and slash several unprofitable international and domestic flight routes. Here’s what people are saying. 

Full-time MBAs could be a thing of the past, The AFR writes. With undergraduate students struggling to shoulder the cost of exorbitant fees and the concept of employers subsidising the cost of post graduate degrees becoming scarcer, full-time MBAs “could be obsolete within five years.” Post-graduate qualifications are struggling to maintain enrollments, Professor Julie Cogin of RMIT University claims, as they are hurt by the “plethora of places offering the same skills training as MBAs, often free.” Here’s what people are saying.

A former Deliveroo bicycle courier is suing the food delivery company, alleging he should have been paid the minimum wage rather than $9 per delivery. According to an ABC News report, Jeremy Rhind agreed expected to complete several deliveries per hour, but instead said he was forced to wait without being paid for restaurants to prepare food. There is growing criticism of the so-called gig economy, which relies on contractors accepting piecemeal payments to complete tasks, though companies say it provides a prized level of flexibility. Here’s what people are saying. 

The most commonly held job title in Australia is sales assistant, social researcher Bernard Salt writes in The Australian. Some 434,921 workers hold this position, or roughly 3% of the nation’s workforce. According to Salt, following checkout operators and salespersons, other booming jobs are computing network professionals, which are up by 68% in the last three years, drivers (44%), human resource professionals (33%), advertising, public relations and sales managers (32%), and software and applications programmers, (also up 32%). Here’s what people are saying.

Idea of the Day: Treat the culture of the company as a living, breathing thing, says Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman in an interview with LinkedIn. 

“You're not placing it under a slide or encasing it in amber. You're trying to make it better every year and someone new who shows up has something to add to that, not just something to learn about it.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.

— Andrew Murfett