> some of these companies are free-riding on the ability to do some firings with minimal pushback because of the "well, look at what everyone else is doing!"

In finance circles it is referred to as “taking a big bath”. When everyone is doing it, you write off past goodwill from bad acquisitions, lay off redundant employees, etc, all to emerge clean on the other side. Having used the cover of everyone doing it, you aren’t punished.