As an employer I can tell you that apparently that loyalty is only supposed to work one way. Today's workers have absolutely no idea what it takes to run the financial side of a business. For every dollar you pay someone in payroll you have nearly a dollar in employment costs, possibly more if there are uniforms involved that you give employees. Someone else here ... I thing it as
@West mentioned payroll costs. He's not smoking dope and was spot on.
People are assuming the quitters in the OP were the golden ring of employees. I doubt it. And being a middle manager has always sucked because you get it coming and going. No one makes you be a manager, it is something you have to accept.
They could have quit and gone to find new jobs. Instead they are trying to make a statement and in the process sounding like a bunch of libs that want to work a no-skill job yet get paid and treated like the Carnegies and Rockafellers. I hope their statement brings them the joy they were looking for because it sure isn't going to bring them economic security anymore than the no-skill job of working at DG was ever meant to.