Perhaps, but it's also worth noting the difference in visibility between employee/manager. For all the employee knows that "political effort" has been ongoing

Perhaps, but it's also worth noting the difference in visibility between employee/manager. For all the employee knows that "political effort" has been ongoing for the last few months and they were non the wiser. I work at a large company with separate engineering/management tracks, and gaining any visibility into the business from the engineering floor is like pulling teeth. For example, I've been blindsided by reassignments that are technically voluntary but I know if I make a stink about them it'll hurt my reputation. I certainly wasn't consulted about the problem my re-assignment addresses until it was happening. That lack of context creates an environment where employees have to read the tea leaves from the drips and drabs of information they can get, a joke about firing would definitely prompt me to update my resume, just in case.