Staff will have to earn less & probably do more. Leased aircraft will have to be well below what Virgin had been paying for 738s (A330s & 1 x B777 - again much less, but surely a domestic only model with single fleet would be optimal to start with ? ) Think anyone who was employed at VA & thinks they are going to get paid the same by new virgin is dillusional. There will also be far fewer staff.
That's just all bravado as of last year there were pilots bouncing off the total flight time limitations. Certain east coast bases would be pretty much 800 hours a year guaranteed. So you are not going to get much more productivity there. You might be able to get a pay cut, but how much difference will it really make?
Let's not forget too that Rex has collected a nice little handout from the Australian government and does contribute money to the Nationals, and that neither QF or VA has gotten much help from the government. Without the government help where would Rex be?