> Every manager has their own manager right up to the company board. If you have to let people go, then how can you say you are not going to fire the guy who is the most checked out? If the person cannot deliver you cannot guarantee they won't lose their job.

Most checked out is not the same thing as can't deliver. In a well-functioning organisation one would hope that managers would assess people on how much they were actually delivering rather than how involved they sounded, and would have support from the structure above them in that.