There are not many non-Japanese pilots now employed by JAL's subsidiaries - JAL Express (JEX) and J-Air.
All of the remaining JEX Captains (less than a dozen), are Tokyo-based - as you may have read/heard, the Osaka-based PARC Captains were given termination phone calls and emails just over a week ago.
The J-Air Embraer, Nagoya-based
gaijin were part sponsored by Embraer, and I'm not sure if that sponsorship included part salary payment, so it's unlikely they would be terminated before the end of their current contract.
As for JAL employing foreign pilots direct..... I think the JAL Captains' Union would probably object to that, however JAL could set up a separate hiring company as it has done with the ground staff they employ.
Unfortunately there are at least 8 unions representing the JAL employees, which should tell you something about the employer-employee relationship.
Originally Posted by Boomerang1
I don't think it is very realistic to think that JAL can just get rid of the pilots it already employs with the agencies.
In our (the Osaka-based JEX pilots) case, JAL simply cancelled the contract with PARC, thereby effectively terminating our employment.
With JAL in dire financial straits, it's a convenient excuse for the airline to use, and a barrow for the pilots' union to push, if they want to purge the few remaining
gaijin pilots
.