Re: hyperbole?
the important part for many freelancers is that big companies are now refusing to employ freelance staff at all
Relax. They've been trying to kick the contractor habit for decades. Give it a year and they'll be on the hunt again.
The annoying thing is the way this plays into the hands of "consultancies". For the past year, I've been working on a body of code created by a well-known "consultancy". The "consultants" seem to have been a mix of incompetent and totally bonkers.