[im_down_w_otp]

Laying off in good times means you were bad at hiring in the first place. Laying off in the bad times means the bad things weren't your fault. It's a very good way to not have to convey to the market, your investors, your supervisors, and/or yourself that you may not be very good at hiring while also giving yourself another go at it (hopefully with better results, though probably not, unfortunately).

[arachnids]

I think everyone is bad at hiring because hiring is hard. The problem is that companies are also bad at letting low performers go because we're human beings and public perception, conflict avoidance and empathy for co-workers influence our decisions

[wutbrodo]

I don't know what world you live in where any company (beyond a tiny, tiny scale) isn't "bad at hiring". Especially not using the ludicrous bar of "never hiring low performers"