Love the vibe of a big corp taking its time to beg on its knees - "btw, the unions, stay away, they're no good, not like me - ill take care of you, they wont, dont be tempted, theyre full of lies and deceit! not like me - i wont beguile you like they will! D:"
I've heard of that practice in other, totally different businesses - it appears to be quite common, you limit your own responsabilities to your employees by having them technically be freelancers