I worked for a big media retailer that no longer exists. At one point they laid off about 10% of the corporate workforce (around 160 people) to "save money" (including several of my IT friends who made under $40k) and within a week created 5 new VP positions in Merchandising (all $200k+ positions). This was just after the CEO sank $165 million into a failed merchandising system overhaul and was paid something like $35 million to leave.