Yup. The Company loves to play the divide and conquer on a Master's degree level--3 level chess to the long term. Playing pretty much everyone off against everyone and everywhere else (FWIW this does NOT result in a happy or particularly productive work force or work environment--but I don't think this is much of a goal--viewing people who fly airplanes much like the fuel that is used to power them). I hear people whinge and whine and then dutifully put extra time into work; to me personally reminds me of an abused spouse sprucing up dinner (maybe if I don't overcook his steak he won't hit me THIS time). The fact that someone would consider putting MORE time in by going into training is wholly baffling (not to mention you will be thought of as a scab for the rest of your life--and someday have to live with this).
So I think one is wise to look at what level of commitment (from a personal perspective) that one wants to give such a place. For sure, there ARE some decent people here (who are worth knowing and as friends and nice to spend time with and see) but on the macro level you're fodder for the boiler.
The IMPORTANT thing to realize if you're on the bottom rungs is that the pot o' stuff targeted down the road for cuts ('screw those greedy A scalers') is the pot o' stuff you aren't going to get downline. You're cutting YOUR own throat if you buy into the paradigm. And to realize there's the same target opportunity BEHIND you in new hires that the company will attempt to persuade to target YOU. One who is considering anything related to POS 18 from a refugee country might want to consider how this spiral has evolved and ask himself or herself do I really want to poke my nose into this thing. I can understand a few folks riding it out before pulling the pin; hard to fathom how anyone can look at any length of years in being in such an environment. It's kinda funny (to me) when some folks get down into the weeds with upgrades, etc. when the dike is coming apart from around the finger. Yup--upgrade to skipper a bit down the road, work harder, have a worse roster, put in more time, worry about life, and make less (under worse conditions) than a present day senior FO who's currently finishing up his days here.
I think we've seen in the fuel hedging debacle (which IMHO was simply a scam all along--witness the airline magically having enough cash to buy or leverage a new airline) the degree to which the company (IMHO) will make up stuff to push an agenda. True or not. No one knows how money moves across China or around here. If I bill myself for a house my wife and I live in I can make up any number I want to attempt to show my wife how poor I am (she's smart enough not to believe this though).