I did read the whole article (and found it fascinating) but don't feel that either of those things equate to "demanding loyalty"

Encouraging employees to interview elsewhere seems to be the exact opposite of demanding loyalty. To my mind it is like saying "we are willing to compete for your loyalty"

If you look elsewhere in this thread it is estimated that senior engineers tend to make $400k ... which is 400% of the 75th percentile of the Canadian wage http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/report-eng.do?area=9219&lang=eng&no...

No bonus doesn't feel like quite as big a deal if you're paid a base-rate of many times more what a bonus would be.

I understand that salaries in SV are higher to begin with, but $400K is likely in the 200% range right?

That doesn't feel like demanded loyalty so much as loyalty purchased at a fair price.