At managerial level, the reasons for firing can range from "his underlings hated his guts and he was bakrupting the company" to "he looked at me funny". If the

At managerial level, the reasons for firing can range from "his underlings hated his guts and he was bakrupting the company" to "he looked at me funny". If the upper management team doesn't feel the connection with the mid-level, all bets are off. That's why the relationships are often feudal: "I am faithful to Mr. VP because I know he will protect me". If you are not protected by a robust chain going all the way to the C-level, then you're like grass waiting for the lawnmower. In this case, it's clear that at some point upper management lost faith in the guy and excluded him from steering decisions. He didn't fight back. When shit finally hit the fan they gaslit him by saying it was his fault, then proceeded to put in place a covert transition plan without telling him. He was naive in not seeing it coming, mis-identifying a series of brain dumps as "reconnecting", and when they felt they had everything they needed, the axe fell.