re: I think the 1000 pound Gorilla in the room is the Baby boomers who will leave the workforce.
Well, I agree there will be problems if that occurs. I'm never for abrupt change no matter what the issue. Quality in change happens slowly and thoughtfully.
One thing you might be missing in your assessment though is that, as Boomers retire, they're generally at the top of their pay range and can be replaced by much younger and hungrier employees. Those new employees won't have 5 weeks a year of vacation saved up and huge arrays of sick days so I would expect a possible increase in productivity to offset the loss of experience.
Art