It absolutely makes it more difficult staffing ewr with other bases but it exponentially makes it more difficult to piece everything back together after a storm. Ewr 737 has never been this small with this amount of flying. They opened mco taking 15% of the list, expanded middle of the country bases, and the new terminal makes the base even more difficult for commuters forcing them to look at easier commutes. You need a more robust base for this exact scenario. The new manpower guy has some explaining to do or he needs a carrot or a stick to staff the flying. Having 800 people on reserve in IAH was never a good idea.