I second that. These big corps are willing to pay contractor rates for thousands of workers and use phycological manipulation to balance it all out with FTEs. Contractor rate is often double+ FTE pay for the people they work alongside. All of this so they can report lower "employee" headcount.
This exactly. Investors need regular signals that the exec team is on their side. These layoffs (especially in troubled economic conditions) are just the kind of rituals that do that.