If retrenchment involves cutting down on areas that are not profitable, does that mean laying off people who may be more skillful than another working on a more profitable project, just because a potentially less profitable project has been assigned to the group by the one up there? If you are the manager, how would make your decision? To axe a person who's supposedly less competent but more familiar with the project or to axe the more inexperienced but potentially could bring a project further? I think this is a pretty interesting question. Life is indeed full of dilemmas.
If I ever own a company in future, I will make sure that my fundamentals are firm enough to not have to make that painful decision.
Talking about dilemmas, I am further convinced that the delay of my grad school is indeed the right choice, which is unanimously justified by multiple factors. Way to go!