The losses could endanger the administration’s plans for landing astronauts on the moon and Mars.

At least 2,145 senior-ranking NASA employees are set to leave under a push to shed staff, according to documents obtained by POLITICO — potentially spelling trouble for White House space policy and depriving the agency of decades of experience.

  • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
    22·
    2 days ago

    I was curious so I asked ChatGPT. The answer was surprising…all of them tower over Bell by nearly every financial measure…

    Was Any Company Bigger Than Bell at Its Peak?

    Short answer: Yes — by some metrics. But Bell was unique.

    📡 Bell System at Its Peak

    The Bell System (AT&T and its regional Bell companies) was a government-regulated telecom monopoly until its breakup in 1984.

    • Revenue (early 1980s): ~$70–80B/year
      → ~$220–250B today, inflation-adjusted
    • Employees: Over 1 million
    • Market Cap (est.): ~$100–150B in 1980s
      → ~$300–400B today
    • Market Share: ~90% of U.S. phone service
    • R&D: Bell Labs (invented transistor, UNIX, lasers, info theory, etc.)

    In short: Bell controlled the entire U.S. telecom backbone and set the pace for global innovation.

    🦷 Big Tech Today (as of 2025)

    Company Market Cap Revenue (TTM) Employees
    Apple ~$3.5T ~$420B ~150,000
    Amazon ~$2T ~$600B ~1.5 million
    Alphabet ~$2.5T ~$370B ~180,000
    Microsoft ~$3.5T ~$300B ~220,000
    Meta ~$1.3T ~$140B ~65,000
    • All exceed Bell’s revenue and market cap, even adjusted for inflation.
    • Amazon rivals Bell’s employee count, but largely due to warehouses and delivery.

    🧠 Influence Comparison

    Category Bell System FAANG & Friends
    Revenue ~$220–250B (adj.) ✅ Yes (Apple, Amazon, etc.)
    Market Cap ~$300–400B (adj.) ✅ Yes (multiple > $2T)
    Employees ~1M ✅ Amazon (~1.5M)
    Infrastructure Control National telecom monopoly ❌ No – rely on existing infra
    Scientific Legacy Bell Labs (transistor, UNIX) ❌ Unmatched in corporate R&D
    Monopoly Power Legally enforced monopoly ❓ De facto dominance (ads, data, AI)

    🧾 TL;DR: Is Anyone “Bigger”?

    By market value and revenue? ✅ Yes
    By number of employees? ✅ Amazon
    By influence on infrastructure, science, and policy? ❌ No — Bell was foundational

    Bell wasn’t just a company — it was the nervous system of American communication.