[felix_n]

Maybe I'm being cynical, but this strikes me as cover to have a layoff but weasel out of paying severances.

[magixx]

I mean, I don't believe it's a cover. From the perspective of a company why would you ever want to lay off ($) people when you can push them towards wanting to quit (no $).

[wildmanx]

That's the kind of short-sighted thinking that makes the difference between high performers actually wanting or not wanting to work for you.

(In more detail, the two reasons my sibling comment gave.)

[fpetfj]

My company is being acquired and doing exactly this. Senior engineers and managers are getting fed up and leaving, and the company does nothing to retain anyone. It's a win-win for the company and those who leave because they're all leveling up and the company saves a ton of cash, but the people who stay are suffering from the brain drain. No idea how they expect new hires to keep this ship afloat...

[banach]

Two reasons: wanting to be able to hire in the future, and to retain high performers who also value a good atmosphere in the workplace.