Skip to main content

Cathay Pacific to slash 8,500 jobs, end Cathay Dragon brand due to pandemic

 Overall, it will cut 8,500 positions, or 24% of its normal headcount, but that includes 2,600 roles currently unfilled due to cost reduction initiatives

Photo: Reuters

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said on Wednesday it would slash 5,900 jobs and end its regional Cathay Dragon brand, joining peers in cutting costs as it grapples with a plunge in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. The airline would also seek changes in conditions in its contracts with cabin crew and pilots as part of a restructuring that would cost HK$2.2 billion ($283.9 million), it told the stock exchange. Overall, it will cut 8,500 positions, or 24% of its normal headcount, but that includes 2,600 roles currently unfilled due to cost reduction initiatives, Cathay said.

“The global pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on aviation and the hard truth is we must fundamentally restructure the group to survive,” Cathay Chief Executive Augustus Tang said in a statement. Cathay shares jumped almost 7% in early trade, with broker Jefferies saying the announcement removed a key overhang on the stock. Singapore Airlines Ltd and Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd have already announced similarly large payroll cuts, as the International Air Transport Association forecasts passenger traffic will not recover until 2024.

Cathay, which has stored around 40% of its fleet outside Hong Kong, said on Monday it planned to operate less than 50% of its pre-pandemic capacity in 2021. After receiving a $5 billion rescue package led by the Hong Kong government in June, it had been conducting a strategic review that analysts expected would result in major job losses. The airline said it was bleeding HK$1.5 billion to HK$2 billion of cash a month and the restructuring would stem the outflow by HK$500 million a month in 2021, with executive pay cuts continuing throughout next year….Read More.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Best Unconventional Workout and Sporting Activities for Summer

In summers, depending upon conditions and circumstances one can incorporate both outdoor  and indoor activities in their training schedule.   Summer is the season of holidays, picnics, outings and beaches. With travel and binge eating proper workout becomes that much more essential in summers. But with heat and the sun outdoors, an individual has to balance his indoor and outdoor activities to get a fulfilling workout. In summers, depending upon conditions and circumstances one can incorporate both outdoor and indoor activities in their training schedule. Mentioned below are some of the best physical and sporting activities that one can use as a workout to stay fit in the summer season. Beach Sports - If in summers one is going to spend much time on beaches or at a beach destination then one may use beach sporting activities such as beach rugby, beach soccer, beach tennis and beach volleyball to stay fit. All of these sporting activities on sand provide a ...

Crypto exchange Binance temporarily suspends payments from EU's key network

  Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will temporarily suspend euro bank deposits from one of Europe’s key payments networks, it said in an email sent to users (Reuters) -Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will temporarily suspend euro bank deposits from one of Europe’s key payments networks, it said in an email sent to users on Tuesday. The email said that from 8 a.m. universal coordinated time on Wednesday, customers would no longer be able to deposit funds through the Single Euro Payments Area, or SEPA, schemes. The move was due to “events beyond our control”, the exchange said in the email. “Any deposits attempted via SEPA in the meantime will be returned within 7 working days. SEPA withdrawals are unaffected by this suspension”, Binance said. The development was reported earlier by the Financial Times. The network, which is a European Union project that aims to harmonise euro payments across the region, allows consumers to send euros across three dozen countries. Binance typically ac...

‘Farmers will get justice’, says member of SC panel on farm laws Ghanwat

  Included in the four-member committee set-up by the Supreme Court to hold talks with the farmers agitating over the new farm laws, Anil Ghanwat said that “protesting farmers will get justice” Included in the four-member committee set-up by the Supreme Court to hold talks with the farmers agitating over the new farm laws, Anil Ghanwat on Tuesday said that “protesting farmers will get justice.” The Supreme Court on January 12 stayed the implementation of three farm laws and tasked the committee of experts to listen to grievances of the farmers on the farm laws and the views of the government and submit its report to the court within two months. Anil Ghanwat, president of the Shetkari Sanghatana, a Maharashtra-based  farmer organisation  told ANI, “This movement should stop somewhere and a law should be made in the interest of farmers. First we need to listen to farmers, if they had some misconception about Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Agricultural Produce Market Commit...