This is the second time in these comments I've seen this distinction held out as self-evidently meaningful. I sincerely do not understand, can someone please explain why laying off salaried workers matters but hourly ones does not?
There is a meaningful distinction between the expected nature of the role and benefits of a contractor vs full time employee.
This isn't to say that laying off contractors doesn't matter, but its not unexpected or as good of a means to understand a company's outlook.