As the person doing the hiring that kind of incentives me to strive for a lower salary, at least for that first year. I'm not going to do that since we aren't in diar straits, the offer will be appropriate for the role and industry comps, I was just surprised to learn that and wondered if anyone on HN was surprised as well.
I was a head hunter candidate/new hire previously and now I'm wondering if/how that up-front fee may have affected my own offer at that time.
Honestly, the candidate is worth the head hunter fee, but I'm more looking at this through the lens of the job candidate who could have applied on their own. As a direct candidate, you can negotiate for a sign-on bonus that is, say 15% of your target salary, and the hiring company shouldn't blink an eye (if you confidently know you're a solid candidate that is).