A consultant very often is cheaper than having them on the loan list.
No pension contributions, specific task, typically more highly motivated than the employee (its the consultants livelyhood), you can get rid of them much more easily. etc etc.
WW doesn't want temporary savings. It wasn't clear to me at first as to why our savings should be permanent but I can see the way the world is unfolding. In my mind he is right. At the very least it will take a long time to recover from the current crisis.
I want us to be in the right position to take advantage when the ''good times'' come back.