Nobody really has products anymore! Big Tech’s only product is their stock price and will do pretty much anything to improve it. Small Tech’s product is themselves and they are just trying to sell that product to Big Tech, so that they can have their exit and then spend their time working on Big Tech’s stock price, too.

Also: I lived through both 2001 and 2008 and today seems very different. During the previous downturns, life was still basically OK for those who managed to keep their jobs. All they needed to fear were the next round of layoffs. Today, executive leadership seems hell bent on both reducing staff AND griefing those employees they keep in various ways to make sure they know their place. Perks and benefits disappearing, compensation frozen, expanding work expectations, general antagonism, and so on. I don’t remember any of that happening in previous downturns.