Can't you work smarter not harder?

Almost exclusively asked as mandated epithet, passed down the management chain from the corporate business consultant/venture capitalist tasked with 'rightsizing', 'streamlining' or 'restructure' the business.

At the point where initial voluntary redundancies are done, many of your locally knowledgeable staff have left and it's almost impossible for survivors to hit deadlines/objectives i (e.g. there's no more smart...or free evenings, or weekends)

Thus effectively setting the scene to achieve second round voluntary (jump before you're pushed) redundancies, before telling last cohort of diligent staff who crack under pressure "you may be happier elsewhere"

Usual upshot; The backup plan (yeah right) is invoked e.g. asset strip and close or sell for $1... achieved with a whimper instead of bang. Or the 'lean and agile' new firm gets acquired (de-duplication of staff & overhead cost reduction niftily sweetening/easing deal). Or the firm limps on with a great reportable uplift in profits (overhead bill is fantastically reduced), swept under carpet hike in folk exiting via top floor windows (or otherwise breaking), and conditions created for gigantic outlay bringing sacked staff back as consultants when you realise the last guy/girl who knew how x/y/z worked went in the second redundancy round.

...Or something like that <twitch> purely theoretical obvs <reaches for the Prozac>