I'm convinced most/all C-suite (at least at big enough companies) are sociopaths. It's the only explanation I have for how they do the things they do and sleep at night.
I've had to lay off a few people over the years. It's by far the worst part of my job. I loose sleep for weeks, can't eat, etc whenever it happens. If I was a normal part of my job, I'd have to quit because it's unhealthy.
Myself as well it’s absolutely brutal. Sometimes it is the case that people must be let go for a company to continue existing. In those situations it’s awful but even someone as hostile to layoffs as I am understands that sometimes there is no other choice. Normal people can preside over those in a well meaning way.
These reason this statement and many like it are so heinous is because they do not even pretend to say they had no other choice in order for the company to survive.