Sure, managerial feudalism is totally a thing but also CEOs are aware of that and shareholders are aware of that which is why layoffs and reorgs and such happen

Sure, managerial feudalism is totally a thing but also CEOs are aware of that and shareholders are aware of that which is why layoffs and reorgs and such happen periodically at any company in a competitive business. But the rank-and-file employee who's trying to assess whether their job generates value will have a very hard time doing this at all accurately. You need a lot of business strategy context to understand why the company is actually employing you (as opposed to what they tell you, which is always going to be "because you're amazing and talented and a valued team member")