I've heard the same - They've called in Swire to deal with the aftermath of what has happened.
I also heard (from D.L. Manager of the Basings Office) that in the case of the Canadians that are in the U.S. - the Company had hired a team of attorneys to file for A work visa for ONE Canadian, just to see what the U.S. Immigration would do. If they were successful, then the team would use the same process for the rest of the Canadians.
Well, someone apparently 'didn't do their homework' - the Canadian that agreed to be the 'guinea pig' was a holder of a 'Green Card'. Consequently, he was denied the work visa (which makes sense).
D.L. thinks 'they' have one more chance at this (all of course at somebody's expense, as I would think that the attorney team is not taking this on a pro bono basis).
One thing that the managers failed to realise (regardless the country of the Base) is that, contrary to their belief that it is the responsibility of the crew member to ensure that he/she takes care of their own affairs when it comes to work status and taxes, it is also the responsibility of the Company as a Corporation to ensure that they abide by the work laws of that country. They simply cannot just 'pass the buck' to the employee and claim "Well we told him".