Yes, DHL did do that, last time I believe was Oct 2011 where I was fortunate enough to have my shiny CV selected for interview.
They had apparently had over 4000 applicants for the bonded scheme (never advertised) and ended up picking four, which im told, struggled with the 757 to the point where DHL said "no more cadet pilots".
If you put yourself in the position of a cash-strapped airline why would you invest in people when they are climbing hand over foot to come and invest in you? The power shift in the last few years had made airlines realised just how badly some people want to become pilots, and where there's demand theres exploitation. Always has been always will be.
I've recently decided to pay for a type rating on the 737 with 500hrs line training subject to asking a few questions and being convinced that there are jobs (albeit poor conditions) out there. We can moan about the ethics of it all we want but at the end of the day somebody is going to get that job and 99 others aren't. Im sick and tired of being part of the latter.
Tell someone who moans at having to shell out £600 for cabin crew training just how much it costs to be a pilot and watch their jaw hit the floor! It's a joke but a survivable one if you have a backup career you can follow if it all goes wrong or if you need to bide your time.