Why shortcut to make alias changed in Mojave?

Why did was this changed in Mojave?

Nobody here can answer that question, nor can we speculate on why.

Is there some way to restore the previous meaning for Cmd-L?

It doesn't appear Finder is using it, so you can do this:

Keyboard System prefs > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts

Click the + button

Application: Finder

Menu Title: Make Alias

Keyboard Shortcut:< type cmd-L >

First thing I needed & can't find a good reason why Apple would make such a stupid change. And why there's an update at all makes ZERO sense. Just more angst for the user over nothing. So far, the Alias shortcut is the ONLY change I've been able to notice in Mojave.

They're pushing me to Windows with this kind of stupidity.

I just [sadly] discovered this as well. Thank you for the new shortcut. This is what I think is going on. Because you can edit stuff when you are in preview mode (the spacebar) --- that it holds the same functions as if you had opened the document, thusly Command+L rotates it left (without even looking at it), and all other commands in preview also have same properties. Which I guess is good?

Barne-15E is correct that no one here can definitively say why, but unlike him,I will cheerfully speculate. Because I am Always Right, Even When I am Wrong. I'm right this time, you'll see. I supported Macs and other IT for 30 years, and I grew to agree sometimes with Dr. McCoy "I know engineers, they love to change things" (Star Trek The Motion Picture) but there's almost always a better answer. The word Alias begins with A, not L, but long ago when the alias was introduced to the Mac, (I lived then😮, 30 years remember), Cmd-A was already taken (for Select All). L seemed the next best thing. But now somebody decided it really made more sense to have a shortcut that used A even though it's 3 keys. (I imagine the shortcut-wars that have been fought for years over this at Apple.) After all these years they bit the bullet and made the change. It's always a struggle. Institute the better(?) idea or stay with what the people know. New users or the old ones? "Young minds, fresh ideas, be tolerant" (Admiral Kirk Star Trek III)