sub optimal for what?

in a boom market you optimize for growth: spend some more to be ready to take on the next big thing.

with a looming recession you optimize differently.

basically they are showing they are prioritizing according to changing climate

Funny. I interviewed at a company that doubled down on development in a downturn and subsequently ate their competitors when things came back.

Maybe it's just doing what investors want, or using that as an excuse to trim some fat. But when you're profitable I'm not sure it actually makes sense to slow down just because the economy has.

C'mon. Suboptimal would be having staff be off by 20%-30%-50%. Google laid off what - 6%?

It's terrible for the people laid off, but from a company standpoint that falls within normal fluctuation range.

Their staffing is off by that much though. The bulk of google is working on non revenue non profitable ventures