"So it's ok for shareholders to prop up a company for years to...

"So it's ok for shareholders to prop up a company for years to then lose huge amounts of equity while at the same time under performing management retain their positions and the opportunity to benefit from the re-emergence of the project at a later date, no doubt funded by pre-arranged private equity?"

It's capitalism. Some investments pan out, others don't.

Staff don't take on the risk of your investment - that's your job.