Cathay Pacific attempts to cool tensions with shareholders as staff face imminent job cuts
City’s flagship airline holds annual general meeting amid HK$4 billion cost saving exercise to overhaul business
Responding to shareholders’ queries on topics such as the airline’s fuel hedging strategy, cost saving initiatives, and a drop in service standards, chairman John Slosar said the company would continue on a path to get the company back on track. Slosar did offer reassurance that losses relating to fuel hedging will end in 18 months’ time, when the relevant contracts expire.
The airline, one of Asia’s largest international carriers, is embarking on a three-year HK$4 billion cost saving exercise to overhaul the business after recording a HK$575 million (US$73 million) loss in the last financial year.
Part of the plan already announced will see management jobs cut, a pay freeze for managers, all non-critical recruitment halted and a 30 per cent cut in staff costs at its headquarters.
Speaking to shareholders about the broader changes at the business, Slosar said: “On all those fronts we are making significant progress,” he said at the company’s annual general meeting on Wednesday morning, without offering specific details on the progress. “There is certainly more to come on that, and I would just add that we will not rest until we get Cathay Pacific to the point where it needs to be.”
Staff are awaiting news of a major round of imminent job losses, affecting positions at the company’s headquarters, particularly among the airline’s mangers, though the company declined to answer media questions on personnel matters.