New hire gets email on first day asking to donate his PTO to coworkers: 'A nice red flag on the first day'

Have you ever worked for a company that allowed you to donate your PTO to other coworkers? I've seen it done two ways. At one company, you could explicitly give your PTO hours to an employee of your choice, while at another company, at the end of the quarter, you could donate hours to a 'pool' that would then be distributed to those employees who needed it most. After reading the comments on this post, a lot of employees from other countries find this concept to be bonkers. I can understand wanting to donate hours to a coworker with whom you've developed a relationship, who may be in desperate need of PTO time due to family issues or medical leave. But being asked to donate to strangers on your very first day? That might be pushing it. This new hire got an email from HR on his very first day asking him to donate PTO to two employees that he didn't even know. The worst part is he already doesn't like his new job and is taking a major pay cut after being laid off from his old job. The people of the internet seem to be taking his side in the matter.