Humans outspend AI on company costs in token-based models

Companies now spend thousands to millions on AI token usage, matching or exceeding human payroll costs. Anthropic and OpenAI shifted to pay-as-you-go token pricing, with usage costs rivaling salaries. Nvidia VP Bryan Catanzaro says computing costs exceed employee costs. Microsoft cut 15,000 jobs and bought out senior executives in April 2026. Arvind Jain of Glean calls the cost parity unprecedented.