I think the underlying story here is the transparency: if they cut the shrimp and are able to back that decision in the open, people will understand and accept it. If everything is geting cut randomly (or is not there) and you only hear "we must spare" while the CxO bonuses and share prices show otherwise, the reception will be quite different. And if even basic work-related stuff like laptop upgrade or trip costs are blocked (or feel like that), then no reasoning in the world can fix the bad morale: it just shows disregard to the actual work.