>But these are profitable companies

Q: You know what investors and shareholders love more than having 1 billion dollars?

A: Having 2 billion dollars. And with all the money being burned on AI, having 2 billion is better than 1.

If mass layoffs causes the stock to go from 1 to 2, then guess what's gonna happen?

In the ZIRP era companies would hire needlessly to get the stock up because that signaled growth to investors. Now it's the opposite, you trim because that gets the stock up, not because they conspire together to lay off people.