I know it's a rumour network, but the facts are I believe less contentious than portrayed.
Instead of crapping on without knowing the details, why not ask a friend who is based there?
I'm happy to be corrected, but my understanding from the friend of one of the adfected crew is as follows:
The AAOA were in the loop.
They were advised before the letters to crew were sent.
They had their AAOA letter ready to go once the company sent theirs, it's on the AAOA website, I was shown it.
The procedure CX are adopting complies with the required consultative process.
Clearly the outcome is debatable and unknown.
Individual SYD crew have more than one option - yes it includes leaving or going to HK.
It appears there may be 8-12 individuals who's circumstances may change for the better.
There may sadly be 2-6 individuals who may have to take an alternative base and commute.
There are finite base slots in MEL and BNE that have been made available.
The taking up of these slots appears to be in accordance with what is written in either the Basings agreement and/or the COS of the crew affected.
Any disruption to families and jobs is far from ideal. However in this case, the end result is likely to be more crew are where they want to be based, and less crew will have to do a domestic commute.
That's not to diminish the serious upheaval it may have for some of the junior based crew who live in Syd, but who may, depending on the consultation process, have to choose one of the less favourable options like leave, go to HK, or commute from MEL/BNE.
On balance though, and rarely for CX, in this case there are likely to be significantly more winners than losers.