Layoffs aren’t “playing with people’s lives”. Employment is only by mutual consent and everyone knows that. Consent can be revoked at any time which is why anyone prudent (especially in a software engineering role) isn’t living paycheck to paycheck.

Don’t blame a customer for the vendor’s irresponsibility.

Unfortunately for this perspective, one side of the equation very much plans their lives around this mutual arrangement. When the other party experiments with the arrangement without deep consideration, I think "playing with people's lives" is very much an apt description.

Just because I would not be destitute tomorrow does not mean that my life (and those of my family) would not be deeply impacted.

That’s true in the US but not in most other rich countries, where there are legal constraints on terminating an employment contract.