If you would like to contend that the people at Google couldn't pay their bills if they had kept search more effective, I would like to see some serious numbers there.

Absent that, it sounds like the sort of excuse greedy people have always used to justify profitable harm.

Can't pay your bills without a job... They are constantly A/B testing things and running competitive teams. If profitability is the goal and you aren't the most profitable you can be on the table for the next round of layoffs.

People without a job can't pay their bills. I think it's pretty straightforward.

A Google engineer doesn't need to worry about paying bills unless their family has an incredibly expensive illness, they can switch jobs easily.