More than 20,000 jobs were eliminated last week by technology giants Meta and Microsoft, raising employment worries as these corporations simultaneously invest hundreds of billions of dollars into artificial intelligence infrastructure. This mass displacement of the native working class coincides with a security breach at a high-profile Washington event and the continued flow of national wealth into foreign hands, signaling a deepening crisis for the nation's economic and social fabric.
Economic Dispossession
Meta and Microsoft announced more than 20,000 job cuts last week, directly impacting the workforce. These reductions are occurring as the same companies are collectively spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure.
AI-fueled job losses are explicitly raising employment worries across the economy. The rapid technological shift is reshaping labor markets, with significant consequences for the working population.
Ironically, several top software executives have been poached by AI giants, which are actively hunting for talent with sales and go-to-market experience. Executives from Salesforce, Snowflake, and Datadog have transitioned to OpenAI and Anthropic, according to multiple sources.
Elite Interests and Capital Flow
Beyond domestic economic shifts, transnational capital flows continue to impact national wealth. South Korea made net purchases of $73.6 billion in U.S. stocks in 2025, a figure nearly five times greater than its purchases in 2024.
This rush into U.S. equities by foreign entities persists even as South Korea's benchmark Kospi stock index delivered 75% returns last year and has hit new highs this year, indicating a preference for U.S. assets over domestic investment opportunities.
Regime Vulnerabilities
Internal security concerns were highlighted by an attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, a high-profile event for Washington reporters, which dominated headlines over the weekend. A man identified as Cole Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, charged a security checkpoint at the dinner on Saturday stateside.
Allen was armed with multiple weapons before being apprehended by U.S. Secret Service agents. A New York Post report of Allen's writings indicated that U.S. administration officials were his primary targets.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that one officer was shot during the incident, but was "saved by the fact that he was wearing obviously a very good bulletproof vest."
Outside of the U.S., President Trump is dealing with the ongoing Iran conflict. Plans for a second round of peace talks came apart after the U.S. president cancelled plans to send U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for negotiations with the Iranians.
Iranian officials had already expressed unwillingness to engage with the U.S. The development stoked energy worries, with oil prices climbing in response. Brent futures rose 2% to trade at $107.37 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures gained 1.86% to $96.13.
U.S. futures for all three major indexes slipped following these developments. In contrast, Asian markets started the week mostly higher, with Japanese and Korean benchmark indexes hitting record highs in early trade, as focus remained on China's industrial profits data for the first quarter of the year due later in the day.