Jah1914 - Thanks for your confirmation. I tend to discount anything that is mentioned on the 6 screens site but I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut every so often. Your points are well taken and I agree that it's a savvy move from a monetary sense . Certainly the culture shock has knocked out many a missionary. And not having to take care of these folks once they graduate is a huge point. I can't recall how much they spend in taking care of "special full time servants" but I want to say its just above 100m per year (USD). That's a number they would love to shave down I'm sure. The consolidation of various Bethel branches is another example of trying to get that number to a more managable one.
Question - did your friend indicate whether the WTS is going to be recalling the current missionaries and reassigning them to their home areas? That would be very interesting. Honestly, I don't see how they could not given the turnover rates that are being mentioned. Or perhaps they just slowly close down missionary homes once they lose critical mass in various countries? That way they don't have to announce anything.
Sir82 - I was thinking the same thing. I really think their legal team is trying to figure out how to break the chain of liability before they get hammered. The sexual abuse suit that was settled what 2 years ago or so was likely the tip of the iceberg as far as those go. While the settlement wasn't huge, it caught their attention. You start paying out 800k per person to settle those and it can add up pretty quickly. Obviously nothing like the Catholic Church because they are so much smaller but significant nonetheless.
I do think there's a psychological effect that they haven't considered when deciding to change Gilead and not churn out missionaries. Gilead used to be a point of pride for JWs. Having a special school devoted to producing missionaries while "other religions" sent out folks with much less training (like the LDS). Maybe not, but I just can see this causing a few to wonder that's going on.