I don't know about your experience, but in my own case, the opposite of this is true, and in a major way. The last company I worked at fired tons of people overseas and it managed to cripple an already withered morale. It may not have hit people as hard as if the person sitting next to them was let go, but I assure you, it was not seen in a positive light.

This is the saddest thing I've read in a while.

Under the assumption that it will increase onshore hiring. But it prolly won't in this case. So onshore team will feel more insecure and keep thinking which low cost team is next.