There's still time for discussion! The paper's only in review and they would have had to make revisions anyway. I'd say it's the management that made an ultimatum to the research team.
I say this from personal experience, I once published last minute for a conference and was violently chewed out by my bosses because of things they disagreed with in the paper.
You submit a final version for review. You cannot change a paper significantly after it was accepted.