[hhlevnjak2]

Even if you don't know the economy will slow down, the uncertainty alone will still make companies extra careful.

Where a lot of IT budgets were only guidelines, they are becoming rules now. Layoffs send a message internally and externally about it. Any reasonably sized company will have people who aren't really contributing anything, this is just an opportune moment to cut some of them and avoid the backlash since "everyone else is doing it".