Well the compensation there is fine. It's not really correlated with results in my opinion, but that's typical in massive organizations.
It probably sounds worse on paper and due to my phrasing. I'd say he was stating the reality and being a doofus (he's the excitable and friendly type). It wasn't so sinister.
I myself might be overreacting a bit; having "noped" out of a large bureaucracy relatively recently, my "stick it to the man!" mode gets triggered easily by such things, as well as such articles as OP.
Honestly, the line "had me question everything, including my self-worth, my identity, and purpose" resonated with me so deeply, not just the first time I was laid off, but even now 20 years later and having left by choice.
On the flipside, to get CYA-managery, but any time someone in management says anything approaching "you should quit" that can be a bit worrisome. They might be doing you a favor, but the org is more than likely to be hurt by you leaving.
If that's not a glaring neon sign telling you to quit, and quit now, I don't know what is.