All the communists on here, basically all those with votes that will vote this troll in 321 because slashdot no longer can handle any diversity of thought, will whine how bad this is.
Seems to me the CEO is starting a new venture. Startups are fast moving and while in hindsight everything is clear, it takes some awareness to course correct. For some reason slashdot commies have no problem when they join a company and quit months later after securing their bingo options play, but at the same time, expect to have a job for life if they decide to stay somewhere
Everyone knows thats not how things are, nor have they been for a long time. Tech is one big gig play, and long term stays are exceptions to that rule.
If you go work at a start up, you should expect volatility, and if you're surprised, that's on you. Controlling burn rate at a start up is really not straight forward, and takes some experience. Some of it that can only be gotten there, live, with everything at play. Layoffs suck, but they are part of the startup game. Again, if that surprises you, it's on you.