diff --git a/cron/jobs.py b/cron/jobs.py
index 6c5222110ed6..f41a877fd0d1 100644
--- a/cron/jobs.py
+++ b/cron/jobs.py
@@ -865,13 +865,13 @@ def load_jobs() -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
     _strict_retry = False  # track whether we used the strict=False fallback
 
     try:
-        with open(jobs_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+        with open(jobs_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8-sig') as f:
             data = json.load(f)
     except json.JSONDecodeError:
         # Retry with strict=False to handle bare control chars in string values
         _strict_retry = True
         try:
-            with open(jobs_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+            with open(jobs_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8-sig') as f:
                 data = json.loads(f.read(), strict=False)
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error("Failed to auto-repair jobs.json: %s", e)
diff --git a/hermes_cli/dump.py b/hermes_cli/dump.py
index 8f992e928a6c..5c1a8398fc45 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/dump.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/dump.py
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ def _cron_summary(hermes_home: Path) -> str:
     if not jobs_file.exists():
         return "0"
     try:
-        with open(jobs_file, encoding="utf-8") as f:
+        with open(jobs_file, encoding="utf-8-sig") as f:
             data = json.load(f)
         jobs = data.get("jobs", [])
         active = sum(1 for j in jobs if j.get("enabled", True))
diff --git a/hermes_cli/status.py b/hermes_cli/status.py
index dc58acaa678b..f2ce8f60c7e3 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/status.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/status.py
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@ def _resolve_env(env_ref) -> str:
     if jobs_file.exists():
         import json
         try:
-            with open(jobs_file, encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            with open(jobs_file, encoding="utf-8-sig") as f:
                 data = json.load(f)
                 jobs = data.get("jobs", [])
                 enabled_jobs = [j for j in jobs if j.get("enabled", True)]
diff --git a/tests/cron/test_jobs.py b/tests/cron/test_jobs.py
index f965428ee1d5..1671644307dc 100644
--- a/tests/cron/test_jobs.py
+++ b/tests/cron/test_jobs.py
@@ -257,6 +257,13 @@ def test_list_jobs(self, tmp_cron_dir):
         jobs = list_jobs()
         assert len(jobs) == 2
 
+    def test_load_jobs_reads_utf8_bom_store(self, tmp_cron_dir):
+        jobs_file = tmp_cron_dir / "cron" / "jobs.json"
+        jobs_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+        jobs_file.write_bytes(b'\xef\xbb\xbf{"jobs": [{"id": "bom-job", "enabled": true}]}')
+
+        assert load_jobs() == [{"id": "bom-job", "enabled": True}]
+
     def test_list_jobs_normalizes_partial_legacy_records(self, tmp_cron_dir):
         save_jobs([
             {
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_dump_env_visibility.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_dump_env_visibility.py
index c8ffc61cbdba..2d4b793fcbc0 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_dump_env_visibility.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_dump_env_visibility.py
@@ -75,3 +75,13 @@ def test_dump_leaves_unset_key_untouched(monkeypatch, capsys, tmp_path):
     line = _api_key_line(capsys.readouterr().out, "tavily")
     assert "not set" in line
     assert "shell only" not in line
+
+
+def test_cron_summary_reads_utf8_bom_jobs_file(tmp_path):
+    from hermes_cli.dump import _cron_summary
+
+    jobs_file = tmp_path / "cron" / "jobs.json"
+    jobs_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+    jobs_file.write_bytes(b'\xef\xbb\xbf{"jobs": [{"id": "bom-job", "enabled": true}]}')
+
+    assert _cron_summary(tmp_path) == "1 active / 1 total"
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_status.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_status.py
index 8b09dd8377a3..3ba698c80bbe 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_status.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_status.py
@@ -138,6 +138,25 @@ def test_show_status_reports_nous_inference_key_without_portal_login(monkeypatch
 # Helpers shared by xAI OAuth status tests
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+def test_show_status_reads_utf8_bom_jobs_file(monkeypatch, capsys, tmp_path):
+    from hermes_cli import status as status_mod
+
+    jobs_file = tmp_path / "cron" / "jobs.json"
+    jobs_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+    jobs_file.write_bytes(b'\xef\xbb\xbf{"jobs": [{"id": "bom-job", "enabled": true}]}')
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(status_mod, "get_env_path", lambda: tmp_path / ".env", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(status_mod, "get_hermes_home", lambda: tmp_path, raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(status_mod, "load_config", lambda: {"model": "gpt-5.4"}, raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(status_mod, "resolve_requested_provider", lambda requested=None: "openai-codex", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(status_mod, "resolve_provider", lambda requested=None, **kwargs: "openai-codex", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(status_mod, "provider_label", lambda provider: "OpenAI Codex", raising=False)
+
+    status_mod.show_status(SimpleNamespace(all=False, deep=False))
+
+    assert "Jobs:         1 active, 1 total" in capsys.readouterr().out
+
+
 def _base_xai_mocks(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     """Set up the minimal environment for show_status, returning status_mod."""
     from hermes_cli import status as status_mod