[kabdib]

> Of course, it could also be that this is a brilliantly designed strategy for weeding out expensive employees by focusing on the unemployed and unsavvy.

This is the result, intended or not.

The problem is, the good people usually don't need a job. So the more of a gauntlet you make your hiring process, the less likely it is you'll get one of those already-employed, perfectly happen and great employees. You're selecting the people who couldn't get jobs at your competitors (modulo the false-negative rejects).