The State of GAFAM and the I's (IBM and Intel)
THE era of fake prosperity - or mindless inertia - probably ended in the late 90s. Many things crashed. We saw that "tech" was partly the work of bubbles, or loans, or both. Set aside what happened in 2007/2008 and then again in recent years.
I am reading not only every day but several times per day about tech layoffs. I follow the subject very closely not only because of this site but also because relatives and friends are affected by this. Some people foolishly took massive mortgages that they'd be unable to pay unless they kept their "tech career" in tact for decades to come. Misguided? Wishful ignorance?
At IBM there are layoffs this month and next month, but IBM isn't talking about it (there are NDAs to hide what's happening). As someone put it a short while ago, "Red Hat is IBM." We should assume that those 8,000 IBM layoffs also impact Red Hat.
Intel and Facebook ("Meta") are the latest to received media attention for mass layoffs, last week/month it was Amazon (for instance, over 10,000 managers to be laid off), and perhaps before Microsoft's fake "results" we'll hear of another "big round" of Azure layoffs. Cut-cutting, yay! Good for shareholders, they insist!
What about Apple and Google? Neither (among GAFAM) has been mentioned above, but Apple's hardware executive is leaving (amidst a round of layoffs, sagging sale numbers, and perhaps the imminent end of Vision Pro - a commercial failure). As for Google, we keep hearing about layoffs in YouTube, Google News, and many other areas whose products/services are discontinued.
It's looking like a safe prediction that GAFAM "comeback" isn't in the cards. US national debt rose about 2 trillion dollars in the past year (devaluing the currency, resulting in high inflation), Microsoft is asking for government handouts, and every day I see reports regarding the demise of the "tech" sector (at least as the lucrative thing it once was).
People work longer hours, under greater stress (workload increases after layoffs, a la EPO), for even lower pay (Dell just cut salaries by 10%). This past week I learned about someone roughly my age with a blood pressure close to 160; he works 12-hour days, not counting the commute and preparation. This 12-hour workdays regimen are apparently becoming more "normal" (I heard other such stories lately), so China's notorious "996" is coming home to roost (9AM to 9PM). Are we human beings or machines? Or machines operators whose purpose in life is to work?
Technology and "tech giants" will continue to exist, but they won't be what they once were. █