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Hong Kong Airlines to axe 400 jobs as coronavirus adds to financial crisis at troubled carrier
- About 10 per cent of workforce will be slashed in bid to save stricken airline from collapse
- Ground staff asked to take at least two months of unpaid leave or switch to three-day working week
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Hong Kong Airlines will cut 400 jobs and ask remaining staff to take at least two months of unpaid leave as the coronavirus outbreak worsens the weakened carrier’s financial crisis.
The bulk of the cuts – which amount to about 10 per cent of its workforce – were set to fall on pilots and cabin crew, in what would be the largest dismissal of aviation staff in Hong Kong since the 2017 restructuring of Cathay Pacific.
Confirming the news on Friday, Hong Kong Airlines chairman Hou Wei said the changes were about ensuring its very survival.
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Staff have been warned more roles will be slashed as it shrinks operations. The company said it hoped to achieve that through natural turnover, transferring pilots to other airlines and outsourcing “non-critical functions”.
The airline, backed by the indebted HNA Group, employs about 3,500 people. It has been close to the brink for more than a year amid months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong and the virus outbreak.
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