On the modern laser ring gyros or fiber optic gyros in planes, alignment is just a software function, so there's no cost or wear unless you count the extra button presses you need.
The reason why the requirement was dropped was probably because your company's fleet has the newer models with integrated GPS that constantly monitor and correct the error between the two anyway. If GPS were to fail, for example, the IRU will be able to provide a GPS-accurate position for some number of minutes.