First - you're mixing streams here.
This is not 'amoral'.
This is just people trading services.
It's not 'amoral' of you to not keep the plumber on when he's done.
Second - companies actually do avoid layoffs. Most companies could layoff 10% right now and not skip a beat. Especially white collar. Google could dump 1/2 it's staff and be just fine.
Most companies have slack and generally avoid doing layoffs unless there's a special situation.
"the relationship between an employer and an employee is always transactional, and any feeling otherwise is an illusion."
Generally, this is the case, yes, why on earth would anyone think it's anything else?
Why on earth would a company employ people otherwise?
But again, once people are employed, they're not doing to drop them instantly.
It's all besides the point, in any case, one should be aspiring to 'Do A Good Job'.