Sometimes it is. The more cynical version of this, though, is to engage in a protracted liquidation of the business, and get as much return on the assets as possible in the short term, with no intention of the business surviving into the long term.
Optimistically, you could see this as a way of freeing operating assets from underperforming businesses and putting them back into circulation, clearing the way for superior competition. But that only works if there is superior competition to fill the gap, and the whole economy isn't saddled with dysfuction, perverse incentives, and bad leadership. Unfortunately, it seems like we're getting closer and closer to that latter situation every day.
You can get away with cutting quality for a little while, but eventually customers are going to lose trust and you're not going to get it back.