I feel like it would be easier to find staff that knows or is interested in using AWS over GCE, and that can be more important than $X extra dollars a month. So

I feel like it would be easier to find staff that knows or is interested in using AWS over GCE, and that can be more important than $X extra dollars a month. Sometimes, the right solution is the most practical solution, not the most optimized solution. Once AWS becomes a problem, you're probably well off enough to look into other solutions. But I'd think you could just tweak your set-up.