Cathay Pacific: 90 per cent of staff agree to second round of unpaid leave as Hong Kong’s flag carrier braces for slow recovery amid pandemic
- CEO Augustus Tang says he is humbled to see even more employees, up from 80 per cent in the last round, sign up for cost-saving scheme to keep company afloat
- According to the group’s 2019 report, it employs 34,258 workers
Ninety per cent of staff at Cathay Pacific Airways have agreed to take unpaid leave in a second round of cost-saving measures, with management saying the company’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic would be a “slow” one.
Augustus Tang Kin-wing, CEO of the beleaguered Hong Kong flag carrier, said even more employees signed up for a further six months of pay cuts from July until the end of the year.
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“I am truly humbled to see more than 90 per cent of employees across the Cathay group take part in this scheme, an even higher percentage than in our first Special Leave Scheme.
“There is clearly a strong collective desire to see our company survive and thrive, which I am confident we will,” he said in an internal memo seen by the Post.
The first round of unpaid leave, from March to June, saw around 80 per cent of staff subscribe to pay cuts.
The airline is embarking on a sweeping restructure to survive the pandemic, fresh from unveiling a HK$39 billion bailout, with the government providing most of the cash in exchange for two non-voting boardroom seats and the option to take a 6.08 per cent take in the firm.