They know, they just don't care. The payroll goes down, the profit goes up. The most talented are also the most expensive ones and they're also the most expensive to dismiss legally on a layoff process. If they leave on their own they save Dell a ton of money. What they want is to keep operations without disturbing revenue, you don't need the best talent to achieve that, you only need the good enough.
The problem is that the layoff isn’t targeted. Talented people can more easily find another job that will still let them work from home. That leaves Dell with a higher percentage of untalented employees than competitors.
It leaves dell with employees who do their job and have a life outside of work. They will put their hours in but not much more. They do not recommend change or new ways of getting things done, because they don't care. They will do the minimum and punch the clock for years until they find another better paying job.