While I agree with you, that it isn't cheaper in the end, people think short term. Lots of companies are trying to pinch pennies at every corner. A great example: Why does extra sauce cost more money? It pisses most people off and a lot of people turn it down. But they still probably see slightly higher margins at the end of the year.

It is not about cost. It is about cashflow. Revenue is not a king. Profit is not a king. Cashflow is a king.

Nope, hiring fewer more experienced programmers is also better for cashflow.

My bet is that it's about easy and hard to measure costs, and how our modern big government world insulates large companies from competition.

Nope. I can hire out of school programmers for $70k/year. I can hire grey beards for $200k/year. Not a single grey beard is worth 3 of those out of school programmers.

This is also why grey beards suck for P&L so they better want to work long hours.