This is definitely true today. It wasn't true when MS was a startup and Bill Gates was particularly harsh and it certainly wasn't true when Steve Jobs returned

This is definitely true today. It wasn't true when MS was a startup and Bill Gates was particularly harsh and it certainly wasn't true when Steve Jobs returned to Apple. At that point they were only a few months away from bankruptcy. Another data point is the vastly greater acceptance of giving workers a tongue-lashing in China vs the US. In that case as well, the harsher culture has certainly been growing faster in terms of engineering-driven companies. In fact, I've never seen a US company of comparable size that can move as fast as a Chinese tech company. Part of this is due to differences in IP and compliance laws but I believe culture also plays a role. To be clear, I don't like that employers treat their staff harshly. That doesn't necessarily mean the practice is less effective, though.