Firing a bunch of people impacts morale, PR, etc. So there may be a bunch of people they'd like to fire but not badly enough to deal with those consequences. Bu

Firing a bunch of people impacts morale, PR, etc. So there may be a bunch of people they'd like to fire but not badly enough to deal with those consequences. But a public narrative of "it's the economy" or "layoffs are just going around" can shield them from those consequences and give them an opportunity.