Depends on how you look at it, I suppose. It slows him down, a very efficient metropolis would be able to cause much more harm at much greater speed. Strategic sabotage can hinder the war efforts, and it doesn't have to be one large bomb, a thousand needle pricks might have an effect, too, and they are much easier to disguise as incompetence.
"Sorry, we didn't mean to put an ad in front of this important information, we just hadn't considered that people coming up the stairs wouldn't be able to read it."
Commute hassle does not come out of productivity. Workers are simply forced to leave their homes earlier and return later, spending less time outside Moloch’s grasp.
"Sorry, we didn't mean to put an ad in front of this important information, we just hadn't considered that people coming up the stairs wouldn't be able to read it."