The reason Eagle is going to need to hire is for multiple issues. First, FTDT is going to increase the demand of the number of pilots needed to staff the current fleet plan. The future fleet plan requires fewer pilots. The union reps have been given permission to discuss how to calculate the fleet plan for Eagle without divulging it outright. Regardless of what you calculated (should be roughly 230 aircraft), the reason the announcement to hire came at the same time that the announcement of base closures etc. is due to the fact that the EMB140's that we have on property were NOT part of the original fleet plan calculation. AMR however has told Eagle mgt that we would be keeping the 140's and flying them out of MIA and DFW which will require additional staffing. It likely caught EGL mgt off guard as it was not anticipated that the 140's were going to stick around. Why are they sticking around? No clue other than that the 135's have value with Embrear as they can be retro fitted to become a corporate Legacy whereas the 140 was designed specifically for Eagle and apparently does not hold the same value with Embrear (ie they don't want them back) so AMR decided to continue to fly them.