I imagine the shareholders and board members that approve these pay packages are rational, self-motivated actors who believe that doing so is in their best inte

I imagine the shareholders and board members that approve these pay packages are rational, self-motivated actors who believe that doing so is in their best interest. Also, keep in mind that the terms are determined well in advance if these payouts, and tied to stock price or performance. So if the stock does well the amount can be very high, or if the stock does poorly then it can be (relatively) much lower. And since layoffs hopefully mean that society is getting equivalent output (ads, I guess?) with correspondingly less input (labor), it’s not a sign of weakness or mistake when they are implemented.