Was his role instrumental in this product design/support disaster, or is he just unlucky with the restructure timing?
Well, it can be a couple of things. One is that when executives are in a "musical chairs" for a reduction in the top positions, costs not exceeding budget is one of the key aspects that everyone looks at, and some significant unbudgeted problem product cost is just something nobody wants to sign off. The other is that while all this is going on, the people at the top are distracted outside their normal day-to-day responsibilities, while those beneath them can become unnerved for their job stability, and of course it's your best people who are most attractive to other organisations.
It also happens that the rest of The Board see someone being too frugal with things and upsetting the whole name and image of the business.