2% improvement in opex. Demonstrating ability to trim staff without affecting revenue. Both matter to investors.
That is, demonstrating the business was suboptimal? This is awarding incompetent.
in a boom market you optimize for growth: spend some more to be ready to take on the next big thing.
with a looming recession you optimize differently.
basically they are showing they are prioritizing according to changing climate
Maybe it's just doing what investors want, or using that as an excuse to trim some fat. But when you're profitable I'm not sure it actually makes sense to slow down just because the economy has.
It's terrible for the people laid off, but from a company standpoint that falls within normal fluctuation range.