Letters | Cathay Pacific’s massive lay-offs could come back to haunt it

Cathay Pacific

Letters

Published: 6:55am, 23 Nov 2020

Why you can trust SCMP

The impact of Cathay Pacific Airways’ decision to lay off nearly 6,000 employees goes beyond the company.

The decision harms Hong Kong’s status as an international aviation hub and the city’s overall development. Cathay Pacific is not just an airline, but Hong Kong’s flagship carrier and a key player in Hong Kong maintaining and enhancing its position as an aviation hub.

Many Cathay employees are the backbone of their families, and it will not be easy for them to find a new job in an economy already badly hit by Covid-19. The loss of so many jobs in one company will also affect other businesses in Hong Kong.

While it is true that Cathay is facing unprecedented operational and financial pressures, its decision to let go of staff could backfire in the long run. It may not follow the market in recovery after the recession or quickly get back on track.

03:43

Cathay Pacific Airways announces its largest job cuts in history

According to a Harvard Business School study published in 2010, companies that relied solely on cutting their workforce to survive a recession had only an 11 per cent probability of achieving breakaway performance afterwards. In contrast, companies that struck a balance between cutting costs and investing in the future, while focusing on improving operational efficiency, did much better.

Jasmin Cheung Sin-yin, Kwai Chung

Travel bubble not worth the risk

I am writing to refer to “HK and Singapore give green light to world’s first leisure travel bubble” (November 12). The travel bubble will allow people from Hong Kong and Singapore to travel between the two places without quarantine at either end, although the scheme has been limited to 200 people a day.

This programme will definitely give the tourism sector a boost. As several countries shut their borders to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and the number of leisure travellers plunged, many people – tour guides, employees of shops and restaurants catering to tourists, and travel agents – lost their jobs. Hopefully, the travel bubble will breathe some life into the industry.

However, the travel bubble increases the chances of Covid-19 spreading between Hong Kong and Singapore, even though people are required to get tested for the virus at least three times during their trip. In Hong Kong, we are seeing a growing number of Covid-19 cases with untraceable sources. If people are not forced to quarantine, they risk spreading the virus in the community.

Thus, while the travel bubble has economic benefits, it should be shelved given the health risks.

Zheng Tsz-ying, Kwai Chung

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