yeah this sounds familiar. I think this is just part and parcel with large corporations. there's always incompetents across the organization, a side effect of bureaucracy and the nature of people relationships.
oh wow, I work for a midsize insurance company and there are some positions similar to those jobs i.e. 'training', various government compliance type work that translates to very low work.
what are some examples of these welfare type positions?
another reason so many tech companies are pushing for diversity is to dissuade labor organization. the less homogeneous the workers, the harder it is for them to find common ground.