Henry walked it back.
He said "I reminded baseball ops that we are focused on competitiveness over the next 5 years over and above resetting. You seem to think Chaim was brought in to reduce payroll. That has simply not been the way FSG operates here or across the pond."
Clearly it was NOT a mandate. It could have been a suggestion to try, but they'd be willing to bite the bullet for another year if they had to.