Axed Cathay Pacific staff may not stay unemployed for long as property agents, insurers snap them up, absorbing shock of Hong Kong’s biggest ever lay-off

Flight attendants are particularly sought after to fill property management positions, owing to their training in hospitality and their experience dealing with passengers, said company executives

Supermarkets and beauty chains are getting in on the action, with Perfect Shape specifically trying to attract former cabin crew to help fill 1,000 vacancies

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Cathay Pacific announced the biggest round of redundancies in Hong Kong’s corporate history last week. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:30am, 28 Oct 2020Updated: 12:14pm, 28 Oct 2020

Insurers and property agents in Hong Kong are snapping up flight attendants and ground crew made redundant by Cathay Pacific Airways, absorbing some of the shock from the city’s biggest corporate lay-off in decades.

Flight attendants are particularly sought after by property agents and firms looking to fill customer service positions, owing to their training in hospitality and their experience in dealing with passengers, said company executives. Insurers are also seeking them for their communication skills, especially those who are bilingual or multilingual.

Hong Kong’s flagship carrier axed 5,300 jobs in the city last week and completely shut down Cathay Dragon, its regional airline.

The record cull came after Hong Kong’s unemployment rate had already climbed to 6.4 per cent for the three months to September, an almost 16-year high brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. The hiring spree may soften the blow to the city’s job market, though the former airline staff may well face lower salaries.

AIA, Prudential and Manulife, the city’s three biggest insurers, said they are busy recruiting the laid-off flight attendants.