Ever heard of soft-metal brake rotors?

I try to keep on automotive tech from the consumer perspective… but this one I missed. Buddy o’ mine bought a Land Rover LR3 (used). Got some brake maint done and was informed that the brake rotors in Rovers are made of a softer metal that wears down along with the brake pads. So, for what I’d consider normal brake pad replacement operations, he’s looking at always having to replace the soft-metal rotors too each time. That’s about US$2,200 each go ‘round.

Apparently the same is true on higher-level BMWs and maybe other European imports.

Is this a manufacturer strategy of planned obsolescence? Or is this just a rip-off perpetrated by the repair shop?