Hi EP,
Not everything's as rosy as you seem to point out about redundencies. Remember, some of the Mildura folks may be long-term employees but not yet ready to retire. OK then, they get another job, but probably not in the aero maint. business in Au.
That means, very soon (max 2 years) their licenses expire. Now they're back to just 'tradesmen' from an industry that no longer recognizes Aircraft Maint. Engineering as a trade. That severly limits what sort of job they will be able to get, especially if they're over 50.
My advice for the Mildura crew is to get a transfer if they can, if not, take the money and start looking for work O/S: don't let your licenses lapse-not only are tricky to get back, but you need a job first to get them back. Not an easy thing to do in todays Australian industry.
Good luck to them all, no matter what they choose!
BlackD (also an ex-H245 LAME)