This isn’t the story it appears to be.
If a flight cancels, is recrewed or delayed out till morning then you get a hotel. Even if it’s your base. Unless you cause the cancellation via your refusal to extend. If you are in base and refuse to extend the interpretation of the PWA the company uses is that it was not beyond your control so you are not owed a hotel. For those who live in base this is a non issue. For those that commute it’s a pain. The story is an extreme and a rare occurrence and the company notice is just informational.