I'm in the last CHQ 145 sim class at HOU through at least August as of today. It isn't because of sim shortage down here. There are 4 145 sims and plenty of instructors. Our instructor is a little concerned because he was hired at Flight Safety specifically to train CHQ pilots. He's glad he can now do Legacy classes.
Me thinks Republic has plenty of 145 pilots at the moment and the need to keep hiring is not as high for now. Think about it for a moment. There are currently 2173 pilots. There are 217 aircraft. 5 crews per airplane (approx). That works out to 2170 pilots. We will need more pilots this year for the additional aircraft we are picking up, but aren't we trying to get rid of the 140s and 135s? The attrition rate was pretty high recently, but I doubt it's going to stay high. Where would everyone go? The hiring almost everywhere else is slowing down.
So, the main reason Republic is still interviewing is because of the new aircraft and an expected attrition rate. Who knows if that rate will continue. On top of that, we're flying an airplane at CHQ that is "on the cutting block". Not only are the 140s and 135s slated to be gotten rid of, the 145 supposedly isn't far behind. Not to mention the CRJs we have. When the 116 37-50 seat aircraft are gone, that's a need for over 1000 less pilots. Hopefully, Republic will need and want to exercise the option to continue receiving additional 170/175s over the next few years and/or the attrition rate will keep up so you won't actually see a need for 1000 less pilots here.