Free Software Will Outlive GAFAM
Last week there were many headlines about ~30,000 Oracle layoffs (probably a lot more, but those are the "official" figures). Since then an Oracle office got hit and damaged in the Iran war (Dubai acknowledges but belittles it after initial denials) and during the holidays some slopfarms and sites in India speak of Facebook layoffs, based on "official" notices, not just some press release from "Meta" (the company that rebranded itself after the thing it is now abandoning).
Per the official site this Easter:
Some recent coverage:
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Meta layoffs 2026: Social media company plans to cut over 200 jobs in May
Meta is reportedly planning another wave of layoffs. This time, the company plans to cut over 200 jobs in in California’s Silicon Valley. Mark Zuckerberg-led company is expected to hand over the pink slips in May this year.
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Meta Restructures: 200 employees set to lose jobs in Bay Area
Meta is set to proceed with layoffs impacting approximately 200 workers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The company will cut 124 jobs at its Burlingame, California location and 74 positions in Sunnyvale. The layoffs are scheduled for late May, with Burlingame employees set to depart on May 22 and Sunnyvale staff following on May 29.
According to filings with California state regulators, all affected jobs will be permanently eliminated.
Facebook's debt blew through the roof. Just like Oracle, this is the real reason for the mass layoffs. They're not sustainable.
In Google's case, the debt more than doubled in one year.
GAFAM is overhyped; it is a giant mountain of debt. █
Image source: Richard Stallman