That's a different topic. A large number of E8/E9 in Google have been pushed out recently too. The key challenge is continuous growth. High-level ICs tend to become gatekeepers as the growth of their orgs stagnate. What they don't realize, though, is that gatekeeping accumulates debris and resentment over time, and the value of gatekeepers diminishes over time. A high-level IC either has to make things happen every few years, or reset their project by joining a new org, which means risking losing their institutional know-how.
I don't know about Cloud, but I saw lots of L8/L9s get laid off in CorpEng. Basically, anyone at those levels who didn't have a significant level of scope (i.e. enough FTEs under them), and even some who did, got laid off. I don't know exact figures, but you're probably looking at at least 50 FTEs for an L8, and over 100 for an L9, as a minimum bar to not be perceived as an unnecessary level of upper middle management that can be flattened away.
