This, of course, was an inevitability.
It is, indeed, not a message any FO wanted to see. It also will do little to relieve the overwork of the Captains. EK has dug itself such a deep hole that tweaks like this will accomplish little.
Morale will take another hit, recruitment won't be any easier and attrition will not slow. The only thing they can do in the short term that may have some impact is a BIG improvement to the package. They won't do it, of course.
More airplanes, more routes, more pilots leaving and not nearly enough pilots joining... not really the ideal recipe for running an airline.