The companies certainly aren't dumping their employees into the exchanges because they think it is good for the employees.  It is much more expensive for them to cover the employee with a qualifying plan than it is to pay the fine of a few thousand dollars per employee.  Jobs with low entry skill requirements in low margin industries are the ones being hit hardest by this trend.  Jobs with higher requirements aren't as vulnerable since the employers are using the insurance benefit as a recruiting tool.  Prior to passage of the law, critics of the bill that predicted this behavior were accused of using scare tactics to defeat the bill.