It is actually very make sense for the company to sack the Visa holder first, if the IMMD has made a decision not to renew the pilot visa. It could be 2-3 years from now for cathay to fully utilize all the pilot again, by that time most of the visa holder would have their visa expired. All the training cost in this 2-3 years will be wasted, and the pilot are being paid to sit at home for doing nothing.