It might well be the start of the end for Steemit. I have no idea. It seemed from the info coming out that they now have a grasp on the costs and what it can be saved. They also appear to have a timeline they can extend it to before the deathroll hits.
That is why I am encouraged by the community. The Witnesses who are stepping up along with the other developers who are looking at ways to run the blockchain nodes outside Steemit. @aussieninja's link is a great post talking about a possible solution that could decentralize it in a cost effective manner.
Ideas like that will end up taking hold and moving us ahead.