Yeah it was clear, it was because the total company profit didn't meet the internal target, but that hadn't happened ever in the history of the company, so people were surprised.
In my view, it does. Maybe this was a good company with reasonable management who set realistic targets. Maybe it was a not-so-good company, someone in management saw the line item for bonuses and decided to "solve the issue" by setting a target he was sure would not be achievable, just so they could reduce payroll costs with minimal hassle. I am sure both happen in the real world.