There seems to be significant opportunity to zig as others zag. Imagine the Intel letter saying "we are going to take advantage of the current hiring environment to scoop up talent, and push forward on initiatives."
When the economy slows down, people and companies spend less. Less spending means fewer sales, which means less work and less money to pay staff. Since salaries are a big cost, companies cut jobs.
Before the downturn, spending was up, sales were up, and companies hired more people. Now they see they hired too many or inefficiently, so they cut headcount not only because demand is down, but also to fix those inefficiencies.
And about the argument of investing now to scoop up talent and push initiatives forward: downturns often come with higher interest rates. That makes it more expensive to raise money to invest. So why would companies do that now?