I don't think this will come as any great surprise to anyone in the ATC business. Just like the piloting business it's a bit cyclical. And it's and not helped by short-termist managements that seem totally incapable of working out when people will retire and add a bit for the normal additional turnover to determine the training requirement.
As for
Ever heard of Free Flight & SES... that would free a few
I guess you're either in the know and being tongue in cheek, or you've been taken in by the publicity machine
.