Unfortunately, this is nothing new. I saw this all the time back in the '90s - it was a running joke where I worked (which really wasn't a joke at all) that to get a raise, you quit and come back. Seriously - people would quit, work for another company for 6-months to a year, then they'd come back making massively more than before they left. This company also had percentage caps on how much you could get as a raise, even when changing positions into something completely unrelated - or at least that's what they told me when I changed positions, twice, over the 8 years I spent there. When I finally got fed up with the minuscule raises and ridiculous politics, I had my choice of job offers (was flown halfway across the country for interviews) and got a 50% salary increase with the change in employers (I could have more than doubled my pay, but liked the low-politics in the company I picked). When I submitted my resignation, my boss said to me "I know what you can make out there, so I'm not even going to insult you with a counter-offer." Those words shocked me and proved to me they knew they were underpaying me and didn't care (I made my case multiple times for a raise and promotion that I never received).

Sadly, I'm still seeing it happening and in a completely different industry and in a much higher level position.

FWIW: I'm one of those "too loyal for their own good" types (who get abused for such a trait, as described by others above).