The implementation of Artificial Intelligence is highlighting the true priorities of many companies—for instance, three tech giants: Alphabet (the parent company of Google and YouTube), Microsoft, and Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp).
Let’s start with Alphabet, which saw its first-quarter profits soar by 81%, reaching $62.578 billion, after revenue grew by 21% to $109.896 billion.
The company's CEO expressed his satisfaction: "The start of 2026 has been very strong, driven by our investments in Artificial Intelligence and how our models are empowering all areas of the business."
What if those models were replaced by one that put people ahead of cold, hard profit? Because, in addition to a much glossier bottom line, AI has justified thousands of layoffs at Alphabet in recent years. The harshest was in 2023, which ended with approximately 12,000 workers—6% of the workforce—out of the company.
Since then, the departures have been less massive but constant, wiping out some departments almost entirely. In 2024, for example, the adjustments affected about 1,500 workers in departments such as Google Assistant, advertising, and Augmented Reality.
The strategy continued throughout 2025 with the firing of 35% of managers and small-team supervisors, the departure of about 200 advertising employees, and a similar number from Hardware and Platforms.
Some might argue that while the company has fired people, it has also hired employees with different profiles—the "revolving door" approach. True, but the latter does not justify the former. While the goal is obviously to make money, it should not be done by neglecting the future of the people who are, after all, what matters most. The billions in profits provide a more-than-sufficient cushion to retrain those employees being replaced by AI.
Microsoft, founded by philanthropist Bill Gates, was certainly not left behind, though in their case, the figures reflect the first nine months of their fiscal year. Profits increased by 31% to $97.983 billion, after generating $241.832 billion in revenue—an 18% increase over the previous year. The company itself argued this was thanks to AI—the same AI used to justify the dismissal of approximately 20,000 employees since 2025.
And finally, Meta, which seems to have found its way after closing down the ruinous Metaverse. Mark Zuckerberg’s company—owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—saw profits grow by 61% through March, reaching $26.773 billion, after billing $56.311 billion (a 33% increase). And as in the other two cases, Meta prioritized profits over people and laid off more than 12,000 employees.