I wonder if the author and I worked for the same company?
I was just about to say the same thing. It's eerily familiar to the "Web Site Development, Marketing, and Strategy" firm that I worked for in 2000.
The entire sales staff was laid off - because the company wasn't making enough money. So, to the President, who had just purchased an Audi A6, it made sense to lay off the only people who bring in new business.