This is because the CEO's core job is to raise stock price. Nothing else. They hired in covid and profits & share price spiked due to the economic state at the

This is because the CEO's core job is to raise stock price. Nothing else. They hired in covid and profits & share price spiked due to the economic state at the time. Now the economic state has changed so they fire employees and the stock goes up. By that metric, the CEO will get a bonus at the end of the year. CEO does not get a bonus for not laying people off. Employees are not humans once you get to the csuite. An employee can be a person but multiple employees are just numbers on a ledger. They just send out "I'm sorry" emails to placate the masses and to get good media, no one really cares if the lower level people are upset. You only count once you get to a certain level.