I recall working for a multinational food company a few years ago, and part of the interview process was a business aptitude test.
There were several mental exercises that we had to complete as applicants and from those and your ‘on-the-job performance’, they would select the individuals in whom to invest for the company's future management.
Some people were on a career path of ‘maintain’ or ‘replace’ and others were on a ‘support and progress’ or ‘executive steam.’
I cannot recall the actual terminology, but the above illustrates the point.
Large corporations can make people feel like commodities, and they decide with their human resources policies whom they will invest in and those they will not invest in.
It’s a cold, hard world when they treat people differently based on their potential output, but who am I to tell large corporations how to conduct their business?