How important are PERCs?

In my very own vocabulary, PERC is an acronym for 

Preferred

Employee

Recognition

Concepts

But how important is it, really, to spoil employees in a time of recession when simply having a job should be enough?  Googletm found out that cutting back may have actually lost them money:

In an article titled: 

'Don't Touch My Perks': Companies that Eliminate Them Risk Employee Backlash' -

Googletm, who has been cited as one of the best employers in America, raised the price of daycare for their employees from $1,425 to $2,500 a month for infants and the cost for two children in the day care program went up from $33,000 to $57,000 a year (nearly 75% raise).  

The two-year waiting list of 700 families fell off by more than half.

Math not being my strongest suit, I haven't sat down to see if raising prices on their employees helped them financially, but I do know it lost them loyalty.  

This is not only applicable in daycare.  Something as simple as starting to charge for the coffee that you have always provided for free can lose you the loyalty and even the employment of some of your best employees.  Be sure you consider the loss in dollars before you start counting the pennies.