Are performance reviews getting harsher, or am I just paranoid?

So, my annual review just wrapped up and honestly, it felt different this year. I've always gotten solid ratings, but this time around, even with hitting most of my goals, the feedback was much more critical. It felt like they were really digging for areas of improvement, almost to the point of nitpicking. It’s not just me; I've overheard similar sentiments from colleagues in different departments. It makes you wonder if the company is starting to tighten the belt and use performance metrics as a justification for potential future cuts. We haven't heard anything concrete about layoffs, but the tone in management meetings has shifted. Anyone else notice a change in how performance is being evaluated or discussed lately? Feels like the bar is being raised significantly, or maybe the expectation is that fewer people will be meeting it. Just trying to gauge if this is a wider trend or if I'm just being overly sensitive.