If you have someone who aimlessly kills products and fires people but lacks vision or a decent plan, you could find someone much cheaper, and save tens of millions on executive compensation. If operating margin is so crucial now, then it seems cutting pay of top executives is the easiest way to achieve that with the least damage to the company.
Improving operating margin helps raise the stock price: the company then can at least temporarily produce the same revenue for lower cost. But firing employees is only one way to do it. Executive compensation is now so bloated that reducing it might produce the same gain as from firing hundreds of employees, with less impact to future growth (talent is retained).
If you have someone who aimlessly kills products and fires people but lacks vision or a decent plan, you could find someone much cheaper, and save tens of millions on executive compensation. If operating margin is so crucial now, then it seems cutting pay of top executives is the easiest way to achieve that with the least damage to the company.