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Notes -
Iirc this is exactly the source of Bullshit Jobs that David Graeber suggested: managers bolstering their own egos (or one might less charitably say bolstering their own megalomania) by incrementing the "how many underlings do I have" counter. Whether or not those underlings actually do anything is (apparently) not relevant to the modal human sense of self-aggrandizement: this type of people just wants Number Goes Up.
I would further expect some departments, like HR and recruiting, to be full of people who know how to make it look like they need more employees even if they don't, while the business end of most businesses hires people who aren't so good at that skill.
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I have many friends in management. Having lots of employees under them is the opposite of what they are trying to do.
HR is useful because so many modern workers are litigious, need a lot of TLC to do even basic things like turn up to work regularly and get off their phones while working, and employment regulations are a nightmare. The days of having a plucky young men lined up outside the building site who can be employed with less than a handshake and who are desperate to be hired the next day are gone in the (legal part of) the developed world.
On the other hand, HR people reduce risks but they are often not essential. Low-level managers themselves can do a lot of HR work, though the opportunity costs can be high. Thus, I wouldn't be surprised if HR folk tend to be first to go.
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