Maybe in '23 & '24 that argument made sense. But presumably the past two years they've spent laying everyone off has been enough to trim the fat.
Honestly, any company that's still laying off people that they "overhired" during the pandemic needs to take a hard look at their leadership teams, because they've had ample opportunity to be rid of such people.
I don't think it's that complicated to begin with. Free money, focus on growth. Not free money and looking recession, cut cut cut. AI is a convinent buzzword to keep shareholders happy, no matter how much you actually invest in it.
I don't think it was a grand conspiracy. Executives are just panicking and don't have much more of a clue than the workers. It's just too bad they could weather the storm regardless while people relying on paychecks suffer consequences.
Honestly, any company that's still laying off people that they "overhired" during the pandemic needs to take a hard look at their leadership teams, because they've had ample opportunity to be rid of such people.