Alfonso

Exploring work, ownership & economic independence in a changing world. Check out my Substack 👇

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@HIT Whatever the exact figure, the pattern's consistent: Uber's SVP called it "reducing layers, increasing ownership, removing bureaucracy". Language that shows up almost word for word across this earnings season. It's a script everyone's using right now.

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@divyaporwal_ Fair on the long-term evolution point. Worth adding though: it isn't just uncertainty about requirements. S&P 500 margins just hit a record 16.9% the same quarter tech announced 139,000+ cuts. A lot of this is profitable companies optimizing, not companies unsure what they need.

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@omgsidewalks Fast paced, high pressure environment" in a job posting is often a euphemism for understaffed. It's asking you to absorb a staffing decision as a personality trait. If the pace only works because people quit within a year. That's a budget problem wearing a culture's clothes.

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@Smokey_ This is the whole argument in one story. He didn't wait until he needed a plan B. He built it while things looked fine. That's the actual definition of security: not "my job is safe," but "it wouldn't wreck me if it wasn't."

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@KobeissiLetter Worth sitting with: this is the same quarter companies like Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft cut tens of thousands of jobs. Record margins and record layoffs aren't contradictions right now. They're the same strategy. Cutting headcount is one of the fastest ways to boost the margin

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@FluentInFinance The illusion isn't job security. It's the idea that these decisions were ever about you in the first place. They were budget lines before they were headlines.

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@fioneezy This is exactly why building something outside their control matters. Savings, skills, income they can't touch. Not because you'll definitely get burned. Because you shouldn't have to bet your whole life on them not doing what they're structurally built to do.

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

I broke down what this means depending on where you are: trapped in a job you hate, anxious about being next, or just trying to build enough security that neither one can wreck you. Full piece here,👇https://t.co/fT9IUWzSm1

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

Meta's entire payroll. Every salary, every benefit, every stock grant comes to about $27 billion a year.
Their planned AI infrastructure spend for 2026 is up to $145 billion.
If they fired every single employee tomorrow, it wouldn't even cover the gap.
So why the layoffs? 🧵

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

That's the part nobody says in the all-hands meeting.
From where you sit, a layoff feels personal. Like a referendum on your worth.
From where leadership sits, it's a capital allocation decision made months ago, with your name attached to a line you never saw.

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@olasxni @AlexVivyNnabue A toxic workplace doesn't just drain your energy. It can slowly convince you that staying is your only option. That's why resilience matters. The goal isn't to escape work. It's to never be trapped by one

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@CynthiaOzumba The irony of modern work: you can be "valuable" enough to do the job but still have to survive a months-long audition to convince someone to let you do it.

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@jeremyct The goal was never to become rich. The goal was to become difficult to control.

An emergency fund isn't just money—it's negotiating power. Investments aren't just returns—they're options.

Financial freedom starts long before you quit your job.

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@jeremymstamper Genuine question — do you think most people hate capitalism, or do they just hate feeling replaceable ? Because I think those are two very different things.

[Alfonso @Al_FonsoRSA]

@BuzzMe68410949 @davidpattersonx That's a fascinating prediction. My post isn't arguing that AI won't transform work—it almost certainly will. It's asking which human capabilities remain valuable, how markets adapt, and what that means in practice. I'd be interested to hear what you think after reading it.