Well the employee doesn't have to pay income tax or payroll tax on the money, so in that sense there is a tax break compared to if the money was given to the employee.
I doubt anyone was thinking about donation related tax breaks or anything like that. It was simply "sure I will have Google give $500 to this food bank, but why don't I get a new phone or cash bonus?"
If you're comparing against the employee getting a gift and keeping it, then yes, the employee was better off before.
But you're comparing against an employee who was previously donating the gift and getting a tax deduction on that donation, the employee is better off now.