As an observer of this exact phenomenon, I suggest that it is due to the culture that comes with scala. In any given scala-centric organization, there's going to eventually be someone who has mastered the art of talking High Scala. Unless there is someone equally skilled on both dimensions (persuasion and SW eng), and unfortunately, someone approximately as senior, then there is an interative game where added abstraction and complexity become the primary way to distinguish yourself as a "real" engineer.

This happens outside of scala shops, and I've seen it there, too, especially in C++ shops, but scala seems to attract these people.