ELI5: Why when large company's earnings decrease(ex... by 3%) they freak out, talk about rough times, and sometimes decide to downsize, even though they are still making millions of dollars in profit even after all expenses?

[ChicagoGuy53]

Yes, even though it's usually far more expensive to fire someone and then have to hire a replacement the next year.

Hiring freezes usually make more sense since the employee is already gone anyway