
Shortsighted
They may not be able to afford the contractors, but how much can they afford not to have them?
During my tenure there a lot of key knowledge about their organically grown internal network was in the heads of contractors. It's all very well documenting something but pretty pointless when there's no-one left to read the document.
It will also mean the permies have to start picking up the extra work, not to mentioned the PR disaster that is looming (shh..don't mention the PH word). <joke>I'm glad I got out when I did, especially as I am now safely tucked up in the financial sector </joke>
Good luck to all the upcoming ex-BT contractors. I think you will find the market already super-saturated - you'll need to do a lot of work on your CV if it's going to stand out againt 1000 others for the same job.
PH - the dreaded Paris Hilton :P