You have obviously never run a business where people's lives can be messed up because of flip flops...
Imagine if your employer fired you the day after you landed in HK and did not reimburse you for your relocation expenses and your wife is about to delivery a baby which may need post natal care...
Three days later .. yeah come back... But your terms have changed...
Oh and all of this was being done bu your bosses sons teenage friends.
The issue is not with cutting costs, it is with doing it recklessly without any thought or planning.