First off, people have been getting sucked under treadmills for years - nothing new. I've actually been thrown off one before, when I could not keep up. Who knows id the laying off of 3k tech workers is related, could be simply they have reached maturity and no longer need so many people.
There is a point about the tech no being mature yet, which is why Ford and the other old line vehicle manufactures haven't been following the Tesla model of putting stuff out there and letting the customers try it first......however the pressure is mounting to do that, so tike will tell if Ford, GM, et al. will resist that temptation or not.
If the retiree planned & prepared well, it really should not impact them. It started by taking the pension in cash first off, then also making sure you have your own savings via 401K to weather any storms, and when you retire make sure all the 401k funds are not still in the stock market....the normal stuff you should do as you retire.