I found recently collected larch to have pretty small needles, after a year they become regular size. Obviously because they get better health. Removing needles or serious pruning resulted in equally sized growth in European larch.
I know a guy who has a larch with super tiny foliage, I think it's because he never feeds his plants ever. They don't grow a lot, but that foliage is about 40% smaller than in my back yard.
He hasn't pruned in 3 years because there's simply nothing to prune. But still, the trees look in good health and show no signs of struggle or deficiencies.