"How about you forget about the licence and think about the person." - That makes for really smart business. Maybe you should be in government.
There will never be any totally fair way to to shaft people, and I'm sad they are doing it. All because of incompetent management. A lot of people get comfortable, and want the company to hand everything out. Soon a lot will be welcomed to the real world with open arms and I guarantee they will look back where they were and wish they hadn't whinged so much.