Carbon Out, Silicon In: How Big Tech is Swapping 16,000 Roles for AI Infrastructure

Microsoft launched its first-ever large-scale buyout program in 51 years, covering roughly 7% of US employees (~8,750 people). Meta simultaneously confirmed layoffs of 8,000 employees (10%) effective May 20th. Both companies explicitly tied these cuts to AI infrastructure spending. The Big Four's 2026 capex will exceed $630 billion — up ~70% from 2025. This isn't an industry contracting. It's an industry swapping budgets — moving headcount costs into GPU racks and liquid-cooled compute. Salary lines are exiting. Power bills and silicon are taking their seat at the table.

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