Serialized field values are lost when switching between branches using Git

Reproduction steps:

1. Open the attached project
2. Open the “/Assets/Scenes/SampleScene.unity” Scene
3. Select the “MyData” GameObject in the Hierarchy window
4. Checkout the “develop” branch in Git
5. Observe the Serialized “My Behavior” Script fields in the Inspector window
6. Checkout the “remove-mybehavior-field” branch in Git
7. Observe the Serialized “My Behavior” Script fields in the Inspector window
8. Checkout the “develop” branch in Git
9. Observe the Serialized “My Behavior” Script fields in the Inspector window

Expected result: Serialized field contains MyData Asset
Actual result: Serialized field is empty

Reproducible with: 2020.3.39f1, 2021.3.8f1, 2022.1.14f1, 2022.2.0b6, 2023.1.0a8

Reproducible on: Windows 10 (21H2)

Notes:

• Reloading the Scene fixes the issue when the GameObject in the Scene is affected, however, if a ScriptableObject is affected, only “Reimport All” or Editor restart fixes the issue
• The Editor has to be open when switching to another branch and the Editor has to recompile once a new branch has been loaded