Tons of companies with "cash on hand" still responded to the current conditions by shedding employees immediately. I'd argue that the poor government response

Tons of companies with "cash on hand" still responded to the current conditions by shedding employees immediately. I'd argue that the poor government response to pandemic planning led those companies to conclude that whatever length of time this event was to last, there weren't strong signs that national management would mitigate that. They probably read those leaves correctly. It's not just about the businesses. (I say all this as someone who got laid off and has some savings but can't last as long as I would've 5 years ago...)