I can’t believe I have to say this.
Doing something that harms your job to further your own self interest IS NOT COMPETENCE.
It’s the other thing. The opposite. Competent executives do their ruthless 3D chess without harming the operations of their organisation.
Ask yourself, why is your first instinct to cover for a bunch of rich assholes who manifestly keep screwing up at their jobs?
Also, these companies are doing multiple rounds of laying off thousands of people. The effects of a mass lay offs is a completely different phenomenon from team- or department-level inefficiencies or restructuring.