I think one of the problems was the aircraft configuration. Loading stuff through passenger doors is time consuming and restricts what you can carry.
I suppose we will now see the aircraft boxed in with a bunch of vehicles before they are flown out or scrapped at BOH. The A340 was a great looking machine, shame to see the numbers dwindling. As for the staff, most of us have suffered redundancies at one point or another. The jobs market is pretty buoyant and I'm sure they will get picked up quickly.