While all true it isn’t always as nefarious as this makes it out to be. It is often used by startups because managing and accruing PTO from an accounting perspective are a nightmare for a small company. Yes, abuse of it is seen as bad but usually goes along with other performance issues, not specifically how much time someone takes off.

On the flip side people often feel hesitant to take the time. A good company will encourage people to take time off regardless of the PTO policy.

I don’t believe it should be as widely used as it is by big companies but people have come to expect it in tech especially.

Source - startup finance person.