I've seen a number of tech companies do this, even if they aren't laying people off. They just leave open reqs for every position, with no intention of filling

I've seen a number of tech companies do this, even if they aren't laying people off. They just leave open reqs for every position, with no intention of filling them all. It's a win for them in at least three ways. They get to project a sense of growth and selectivity via the posting, they get a collection of potential candidates, and they get to grab any true superstars they see (or any normal hires who underprice themselves). The most distinctive experience I've had was applying to a position, getting radio silence and then a call two years later asking if I was interested. Further conversation made it pretty clear that they had finally turned a fake opening into a real one, and were contacting the applicants who had piled up in the meantime.