I see this as the EU moving pieces to influence the UK people to revert brexit in a generation (Bregret? Breback?). It benefits the demographic that was already against brexit and keeps the idea od Europe in their minds.
I doubt is for cheap labor. I work in London and in a team of 20 we have a single British, and the few in the company tend to have an easier path for leadership, so why leave? That has been similar in all my previous jobs.