The fact that the code is displayed on back on the screen is just a cherry on top.
They’re looking for folks that don’t need to see the code.
Also, this is fairly predictable. Companies hired expensive devs during the pandemic and are now working to replace them with lower cost devs in a weak market. Jobs will come back, at lower salary ranges.
They come back at lower salary ranges as this is the only still legal way to practice age discrimination. Lay people off then only post lower paying jobs. This practice isn’t remotely new.