What new things did they roll out in that time? Maybe people aren't coming to meetings because nothing important is happening in them.

And BTW where's the evidence for "the economy was headed for the “worst downturns that we’ve seen in recent history”?

And if they think "more aggressive goals" will lead to "self-selection" they're either admitting they've done a bad job of hiring - with that increase, that's likely - or what they *really* mean is they're going to start downgrading performance reviews until people don't qualify for bonuses.