Ok, but ThomA$$ knows that FAs are getting fed up to the point of leaving, and Atwat doesn't help that.
2 FAs is not a lot at once. He's gotten what, 6 or so more since then?
Cyclonesue just stepped down as AM according to aikea's post - and many of them bitch and complain, yet don't leave. Aikea doesn't say that it's *just* Atwat that caused her to leave. She makes it explicitly clear that it wasn't just Atwat - but other drama around the place.
Let's not also neglect to mention that he's gotten SAs and promoted them to FAs, which may in fact be paid at cheaper rates - not that I think he funnels most of the profits towards the FAs - doubtless there is a huge stipend for him. Even if they're paid the same, it's not a cost increase.
Seeing as I doubt he plays the sims, and actively prevents any linkage to other sites for various "PG13" reasons (which taints these sites to the point where some people are no doubt afraid to even look at them) content and player desires are all unknown factors to him. There was an outcry from some subscribers when the survey even hinted that he would remove shitty recolours - so not all of them pay because of FAs, but rather sucked in by the encouraged "community" factor.
Allowing her back does nothing but push FAs further away.
Yet, they don't actually leave. Despite how awful she is to them they stay - even Aikea was talked back into staying. She might push them away, but he obviously relies on his ability to talk them back around. Carrot and stick.
TSR gets people buying subscriptions because of the "talented" FAs; once they leave, there's no longer a reason to subscribe.
Hence why there are many FAs - and many SAs to fill in the gaps. They promote someone quite frequently - so he always has backup. It's also less important for him to have backup now that Sims 2 is winding down. Their quality may not be fantastic in Sims 3 - many people had difficulty learning something new and maintaining a high standard when transitioning from Sims 1 into Sims 2 - so there's no guarantee he'll want those FAs when Sims 3 comes around. And why should he when he can lock the content away as pay sometime later?
After bringing back a lying, crazy witch who does nothing but cause problems, how would Thomas convince his FAs to stay, short of offering more money?
Chat - Aikea talked of Tom Ass talking her into staying - just his last time was unsuccessful.