If they said that to me I'd assume they mean because the company will run out of cash and collapse.
> Anthropic reportedly screens job candidates with a culture interview testing whether they would put the company's mission ahead of their future wealth. One applicant was asked how they would feel if a safety decision sent Anthropic's stock to zero.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/anthropic-...
You're supposed to say, 'of course I'll put the mission ahead and send the stock to zero', but then when you're in the position, you can never allow that to happen, it'll make your manager look bad. The joys of corpo life
Until adherence to the values may lead to a loss in share values, at which point you have to quietly abandon them. It's a tightrope to walk, especially if you're not neurotypical.