CX is not going to be forced to rehire KA crews, however they will need pilots to fly their aircraft when borders open.
If Cathay can't hire outside of HKG and keep on losing the Visa workers who else can they hire other than
PR pilots looking for a job in HKG?
Don't be mean with HKE, it's the future of CX, wait to see some of your longhaul moving across, with a bit of luck you'll go there as well unless they choose to make you redundant.