Is the promotion freeze a bad sign?

So, I was told that my promotion cycle is effectively paused indefinitely due to 'macroeconomic conditions' and a need to be 'fiscally disciplined.' Does anyone actually believe that? When they start freezing growth and promotions, it’s usually the first step before they start looking at headcount reduction. My manager tried to spin it as a temporary measure to protect roles, but we’ve all heard that before. The workload hasn't decreased, if anything, we are picking up more tickets than we were six months ago. It’s hard to stay motivated when the goalposts keep moving and the career path looks like a dead end. Are people in other departments getting the same messaging? Just trying to gauge if this is a company-wide initiative or if my specific org is being singled out for a haircut. I’d love to hear if anyone has received a different story from their skip-levels lately.