They’re likely not supposed to be commenting on things like this as an active employee of the company in question.
Free in "freedom of speech" is the ability to say anything you want.
Your choice of free means cost.
So you're free to speak, but the speech itself isn't free.
Freedom of speech is by definition exactly this: free of consequences.
Right. It’s freedom of consequences from a specific entity, the government, not freedom from consequences in general.
Re 2: No. It's just the usual implementation.
So by your definition freedom of speech cannot exist, or you need to refine your meaning of "concequences". That refined meaning is accepted as conceqences from the government.
Any other meaning is senseless because people are free agents and may respond to your speech in any way they feel fit.
Your employer or society in general absolutely can via the consequences of what you say. If you are making your employer look bad then they can and should be able to get rid of you.
If society decides they don't like you because of what you say and choose not to associate with you or use your business than that also feels fair enough.