They hire a big 4 firm or someone who worked at one. They advise to do layoffs to juice stock price in short term. Layoffs happen, morale drops, anxiety and workloads, and demands increase. This has been going on for 40+ years after GE laid the foundation.
These same bit 4 firms are now being asked to provide guidance and they are noticing how stretched people are and how much it hurts retention and performance. Guess what they’re starting to suggest? You need middle management.