Can you expand on "If I came across a codebase like that today, I'd likely be quite vocal on reallocating the evidently outsized engineering budget to some more productive use"
Like, Google (or other company) still has to deliver to production and they do so using their existing system. I believe not supporting the existing system means not having deliveries.
I am actually facing a similar issue in my current job and it isn't an easy thing to move away from.
Those millions of LOC mostly only existed to serve their own purpose, and possibly the intrigue of many a doe-eyed eng. If I came across a codebase like that today, I'd likely be quite vocal on reallocating the evidently outsized engineering budget to some more productive use