As I understood it, the point was that they are laying off people but hiring more expensive contractors instead.
> ...complicated global factors like [one], [two], and my desire for a marble kitchen island with a waterfall edge. As we all know, our competitors are relentless. Even as we speak, they’re [one], [two], and booking the best contractors in the Bay Area for the next eighteen months.
The author is a really clever writer. It's a short text but it's packed with little details like that, and shows a great understanding of the tech enterprise domain.