Oh yes, it's going to create waves. People who've had compensation stagnation at Microsoft, reduced bonuses, "belt tightening" now see that "well, we're willing to throw stupid amounts of money at those people over there, just not you".

That's capitalism WAI.

People in stagnant careers signal to their employers that they don't need to do anything at all to retain them.

People at a hot startup have all the options in the world.

Compensation isn't about what's fair at all. It's supply and demand.

You want to make more money? Make yourself in shorter supply and generate more demand for your service.

Isn't it like that at any company?

Yeah but in these kinds of big companies there are supposedly compensation "bands" by technical level. When salaries within each band are very different, it can be an impediment to talent mobility within the company.