Probably. They were appearing less and less each season still. Bob called the show a "hobby" as of a few years ago. It's nice that they were still around, but if they're relegated to a two-second cameo or whatever, I think that's a waste. Either use them fully or don't.
If anything seems sour, it's that it seems that the producers and such weren't 100% clear with the cast with their intentions. And it's not as if SW directly told the news outlets and such what their plans were. All the foofarah around their departure I blame on Steve Swanson, who broke the story and tried getting everyone's attention to it using a confusingly worded, out-of-context soundbite.
Bottom line, SS did what it had to do to survive in the current TV climate, which is in a spot nobody 10 years ago would've predicted. Yes, that's a shame it's focus on bottom line tactics, but to paraphrase Sonia: she agrees, but if the show is reflective of the times, that that is much more indicative of our society and not the show.