[SilasX]

I strongly suspect that they did experience this sort of "evaporative cooling" of workforce quality when they made that decision (or quietly reversed the paycut with targeted "raises").

Ditto for GM when they offered all union employees the same (formula for) buyout from their contracts -- the best ones take it and leave because they'd get the money and the new job; the poor performers know they can't last anywhere else and stay on.