It's not his fault that the system is set up in a such a way that some random bureaucrat that's not close to the project can make a department unemployed with a wave of his hand. Aiming for the next grant is how you survive - it's not trivial for academics (or anyone) to move cities every year or so to follow where grants might land.

Until there is that job security, knowing that as long as you keep working you're not going to be randomly turfed out, this phenomenon will be a fundamental part of the academic career.