/john
I suppose it would. It would demonstrate, on paper, the unit is being more efficient than would otherwise be demonstrated at full strength, thus reducing its targetability during lay-offs.
OTOH, I'm more familiar with public funding of stuff. In that environment, vacancies are bad. An organization with vacancies are most likely to have those slots lost during times of attrition or reorganizations. They are the first targets whenever some pol says they want to reduce the size of Government. (It occurs because the slots are budgeted, but aren't actually paid until someone fills them - what gets cut is the budget, not the payroll. Real slick.)