Big Tech Tumbles in 2022

Written by Brook Schaaf

 

Big Tech has lost $7.4 trillion in market value over the past year. Layoffs — now in the tens of thousands — are an unsurprising, if sad, consequence. But we may be witnessing something more, perhaps an unintended consequence of what is sometimes called “the elite overproduction hypothesis.”

Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital, wrote in an open letter to Meta: “It is a poorly kept secret in Silicon Valley that companies ranging from Google to Meta to Twitter to Uber could achieve similar levels of revenue with far fewer people.”

We may, indeed, be witnessing a restructuring with far fewer people. A couple of weeks ago, rumors swirled that Twitter’s shutdown was imminent because of a lack of employees after terminations, layoffs, and resignations. Yet the site is still operating, which means more tech companies may take Gerstner’s advice, which means more non-tech companies might do the same.

So, what does that mean for the affiliate channel, which straddles both sides?

By and large, my money is on safety for most of us because our space creates profitable leads and orders for merchants, publishers, and everyone else in the value chain, especially in Q4.

Even if it’s not quite $7.4 trillion worth.