Had a design interview scheduled about a week in advance at a large company (not FAANG) that was cancelled about 1 hour before the call. The recruiter said the team decided to move forward with other candidates.

This was my first interview with the recruiter. I got in from a referral who’s a senior IC.

I had already spent time preparing for the interview, so it was a sudden shift and time lost.

Curious to hear from recruiters or others who’ve seen similar processes:
how common are last-minute cancellations once you’re already scheduled, and what typically drives them at that stage?