Big Tech's $725B AI Capex Spree Coincides with Mass Layoffs Across Amazon, Meta, Oracle, Microsoft

Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta collectively plan $725 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, up 77% from 2025's record $410 billion — more than the entire global oil and gas industry spends on exploration. Simultaneously, these companies are conducting mass layoffs: Amazon cut 16,000 corporate roles in Q1 (30,000+ since October), Oracle eliminated up to 30,000 positions (~20% of workforce), Meta announced 8,000 cuts effective May 20, and Microsoft offered voluntary retirement to 8,750 US employees. Salesforce eliminated 4,000 customer support roles, with CEO Marc Benioff stating 'I need less heads.' The structural shift is that human salaries are the only cost flexible enough to partially offset the AI infrastructure build-out.