Stock price respond to changes, especially unexpected changes (expected ones are mostly priced in) and new information. The short term price increase is not a

Stock price respond to changes, especially unexpected changes (expected ones are mostly priced in) and new information. The short term price increase is not a sign that investors think the company is doing good (or bad) generally. They already have an opinion and it is already priced in. This is ("theoretically") a sign shareholders agree that this is the right thing to do. It's not uncommon for share prices to rise following news of layoffs. Companies don't like to fire. They usually err on the side of not firing (even when necessary). So, this suggests management doing hard, presumably necessary stuff.