They must be on the verge of bankruptcy. Because if they weren’t, they wouldn’t be laying off and seeking a buyer.......................
Could be just “gettin’ out whiles the gettin’ is good” and trying to make the numbers look better for a sale. Laying off a couple of hundred employees with an average cost (salary and benefits) of $100k each reduces payroll by about $20 million a year. One time charge for layoff related expenses, and the going concern numbers will look better.
If one was heading for bankruptcy, it might be better to just wait and do your trimming inside a Chapter 11.