Having flown with the BA BALPA chairman recently, he assured me the company have not so much as hinted at pilot redundancies. Part time and unpaid leave are just some options that would be discussed before the big R word is mentioned.
Our head of flight ops has also said during a forum that the costs associated with making a pilot redundant and then retraining them 1-2 years down the line are high enough that it is just not an option.
For the pilots treading water, it is no secret that BA's biggest problem during the last recruitment drive was finding enough candidates to pass selection. Now, we have a full hold pool that have gone through the system and BA will be very reluctant to let you go. We have large aircraft orders and the fella's at pp24 have to retire at some point (2011 discussed as being the next big surge), couple this to the fact that BA wants to be ready to expand quicky once this cyclical industry begins to improve. I don't believe it's all bad. IN IMHO