Corporations are not parents, or caretakers. They are/were created to produce a product or service for the public that hires labor to make a profit to share with their shareholders.

Prior to corporations, capitalism relied on private business owners to grow, hire labor and produce products/services and profits. It was determined that instead of relying on one person (family) to own businesses, that a corporation could be formed by selling stock and raising funds through investors who would share in the success of the corporation.

Some corporate mgmts decide that a partnership with labor will produce the best results (especially if in a service industry) but some choose to look at labor as only a significant cost item.

In my time with Delta, I feel that I've been treated as would be expected ( and I've been furloughed) because at the end of the day, the corporations prime objective is to
1. Stay in existence then
2. Make a profit to share with shareholders

Everything else that mgmt decides to do has to be linked back to those objectives.

As an employee, that often seems harsh that we are at the end of the whip. Not in control of our destiny other than to vote with our feet. In this industry, where seniority is everything, it can feel even more like golden handcuffs. Couple that with the fact that as a society we have linked our health care to our employment and it creates the illusion that the "corporation" cares or doesn't care about employees.