When the two largest tech employers in the world reroute payroll dollars into AI infrastructure, that is not a tech story. That is a capital allocation story. And every distributor reading this has a version of the same decision on the table.

The headcount you plan to add in 2026 is competing with the tools that could make your current team sharper. I am not saying freeze hiring. I am saying stop budgeting for AI out of petty cash.

If Big Tech thinks it is worth billions, a distributor can probably find room for five figures.

Meta to cut 8,000 jobs, Microsoft offers buyouts to staff as AI spending costs hit Big Tech workers

https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/meta-to-cut-8000-jobs-microsoft-offers-buyouts-to-staff-as-ai-spending-costs-hit-big-tech-workers-182722409.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEHSZEY-dzQVGe1rkip3ck_yLMefM2FNuJz5O2jxxEE4cWTQX0kE7bVzeECGU-kntblLKN5ZwpoNqiSc1I0CXvDjmi-ySsxEksG4smha8ihZWIG2gknzeryZPZsMTNVgXdr01G56OAtOX0HLQEUPNpOW9kE4wt2osXmkLowNEpqE