Signs of a slowdown in my division?

I’m seeing a lot of chatter lately about us potentially trimming the fat before the end of the fiscal year. I work in the Southeast division and for the past two weeks, the silence from leadership on the new project starts is deafening. We usually have a pipeline scheduled out months in advance, but it’s been crickets. I’m not trying to spread rumors, but the sudden pivot to auditing our expenses and cutting back on travel seems like a classic precursor to a layoff event. A few of the guys in the back office were let go last Friday, and HR called it 'performance-based,' but we all know that person was hitting their KPIs. It’s hard to focus on closing deals when you’re constantly looking over your shoulder wondering if your department is next on the chopping block. If anyone else is seeing weird patterns in their divisions, please share. I’d rather know what I’m walking into than be blindsided by a Zoom call on a Friday afternoon.