Oh, the ELT might not be as clueless as everyone thinks. Are they greedy? Yes! They actually do have a vision and a plan.
Microsoft have been in talks to buy Nokia (network, not the phone) to augment their Cloud portfolio.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrycollins/2020/10/05/microsoft-in-the-frame-to-buy-nokia-again/#2a5aab747228
The ELT saw this and are positioning Cisco to be sold to one of the major cloud providers (use your imagination here). To do this, they need to trim not just payroll but everything down to their bare bones. Not to mention find ways to ditch some of their lesser performing products and BUs.
This is exactly what Michael Capellas did to Worldcom back in 2006 right before he sold it to Verizon. Want to guess where he is now, which board of directors he sits on, and who Chuck is listening to?
The bottom line is the ELT wants a big payday and cash out. They are going to continue to aggressively trim the fat until Cisco becomes a viable take over target.