Lol.
What were ASA supposed to do
Well, they could've
managed instead of the usual display of petulance. Maybe they could've
1). offered internationally competitive terms and thus removed any financial incentive to leave. Or
2). granted the leave without pay and trained people into those slots, on the condition that when returning you would probably not get your old seat back, or
3). Made a deal with the union to take contractors themselves for 3 years as replacements (or 1 year to allow training/ whatever).
That's just off the top of my head. My point is, decent management comes up with better plans than threats. Did the threats work? How does not re-employing someone help? Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Perhaps people who have worked for a long time at AsA have forgotten what decent management is? Is anything changing under the new regime?