They will keep on hiring because the new guys represent a source of profit. Lets face it if you think FR pay CAE the £30k or whatever they charge the cadet for a type rating then you need your head read. Then there is the free labour during the line training. The new cadets also represent a soft target and can be moved around the bases at will to fill gaps in the roster. Also a young guy/gal is more likely to put up with being given an air/ground mixed roster than someone with thousands of hours and an ATPL that will head for the hills and go fly for someone else.
MOL just announced a profit warning so it should be no surprise that he is going to cut back. He said years ago that he wanted the majority of FR's staff to be contractors so that he had a fluid workforce that he could cut at short notice.