Ex-googler: While I think open allocation is toxic and the reason I left I think you mean "closed allocation". the best way to get into one of these projects

Ex-googler: While I think open allocation is toxic and the reason I left I think you mean "closed allocation". the best way to get into one of these projects is to get Acquihired into it. Isn't that fucked up? What does it say about a company when it can't trust the people who've been there for years to do any of the real work and it, instead, buys mediocre talent at a panic price (typically $3-6 million per head) on the acq-hire market?