Reddit will simply replace the mods if this becomes more than an annoyance.
For heavily moderated communities (eg r/AskHistorians or even dang here on HN), I think it's a mistake to treat mods as fungible. For better or worse, moderation sets the tone and timbre of the community.
I agree, but what really drives their userbase numbers is the inane crap like r/AmItheAsshole and r/pics, and those mods are replaceable.
They don't have a mechanism to easily find competent, committed mods. Incompetent mods will create evaporation of users.