I've known of a few that have gone since the layoffs. The impression I had gotten was that besides getting rid of the "dead weight" and "old-timers", they wanted/needed to bring in fresh blood. From my experience with GB 2.0, they would be happy to replace those of us that saw them come in as "new boys" and replace us with fresh young faces that would idolize them and see bethel as this wonderful place where they didn't know anyone that had been kicked to the curb.
It's the type of thing corporations or the military would do. Keep bringing in new recruits. Once the get tired or start asking too many questions, cut them loose. I would suspect that your nephews won't get the type of pitch that "bethel needs lifers" which I got the first decade I wasted in bethel.