Le/Les

[Bobbert]

I saw this sentence written today:

La compañía le informó a sus empleados sobre sus planes de implementar licencias debido a la pandemia.

After seeing it, I questioned why it didn’t say:

La compañía les informó a sus empleados........ because it is referring to employees (plural).

I know that le/les probably isn’t really needed, but when used in a sentence like above, should it be le or les? If not les, please tell me why.

[aleCcowaN]

I would have used le because

La compañía le informó al personal que ...

los empleados is dealt as a block.

Although theoretically les "should've been used", it looks like a bunch of individual notifications. Like the management place all the employees in a queu and notified Juan, then notified Pedro, then Pascual, and so on.

[Bobbert]

Thank you, aleCcowaN. That makes sense.

Allow me to also ask you whether my assumption is right that "le" isn't really needed in this sentence; that the message can be correctly conveyed without it?

[aleCcowaN]

You're quite right, yet, in matters that affect people or groups, it is customary to add these pronouns in the style of dativo de interés. Like a itty-bitty gesture to soften the blow.

[Bobbert]

Thank you, aleCcowaN.