No it was not maximizing profit for investors. It was about having a successful business which will continue to bring money (which would make investors rich). But now it is c-suite are just trying to cash out by delivering good quarter get their bonuses and jump the ship imo.
Regardless of the industry, the workers are a fungible resource to business.
If you don't want to be an easily replaceable cog in the machine, then you need to develop domain expertise which allows you to solve high value problems. You then might become a gold-plated cog in the machine.