A great shame to see 4 years of specialised training go down the drain, and have the career prospects of these undervalued employees thrown into turmoil.
In another 10 years time this industry will find itself in a very dire predicament regarding the availability of sufficient experienced aircraft mechanics. And 10 years is not a long time in this industry, considering it takes at least 4 years to get a tradesman up and running to AME level. Maybe CASA will come to the aid of the airlines by allowing some type of crash course in aircraft maint engineering.
I hope these poor fellows can pick themselves back up and find a more stable and satisfying career where their hard work and high standards will be appreciated. Best of luck.