I'm really confused as to why, aside from cash problems, any company would do otherwise...
Companies thrive on hiring more people, motivating them to create x amount of wealth (on average), and giving them salaries, benefits, and resources worth 0.9x (on average). More smart engineers means more x, means more 0.1x, and more profit. A recession is a time that there are more smart engineers in the market, not fewer.
Companies thrive on hiring more people, motivating them to create x amount of wealth (on average), and giving them salaries, benefits, and resources worth 0.9x (on average). More smart engineers means more x, means more 0.1x, and more profit. A recession is a time that there are more smart engineers in the market, not fewer.