03:43
Cathay Pacific Airways announces its largest job cuts in history
Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3109778/job-cuts-will-help-cathay-pacific-navigate-profitability Letters
Job cuts will help Cathay Pacific navigate to profitability
- The alternative – allowing Hong Kong’s flagship airline to go under with all 33,000 jobs – would have been much worse
Cathay Pacific employees walk through Hong Kong International Airport on October 21 as the flagship carrier announces mass lay-offs. Photo: AFP
Rishi Teckchandani displays a false sense of economy in his analysis of the Cathay Pacific Airways decision to lay off thousands of workers (“Cathay should have been left to market forces”, November 12). Would he have preferred the airline to have failed completely, taking with it all 33,000 jobs, to the restructuring that preserved employment for the majority while offering those who were let go the possibility of re-employment?
Similarly, the government made a strategic investment in Cathay Pacific to ensure that Hong Kong remains a viable transport hub, a decision that was, again, based on the preservation of jobs – and not the bailout that Mr Teckchandani suggests.
The decision to let go of 8,500 staff was the best way to navigate the airline back to profitability, preserving as many jobs as possible.
Mark Peaker, The Peak
Outrage at Cathay’s lack of communication with staff
I am writing in response to your report on Cathay Pacific, “Shock, sadness and nostalgia as staff digest news” (October 21).
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, many people have lost their jobs across different business sectors and this wave of lay-offs continues in a still weak economy. Cathay Pacific’s decision to axe employees in such large numbers at the height of a pandemic and to shut down an entire airline overnight has been especially nightmarish.
Given the pandemic-affected economy, many workers have braced themselves for pay cuts and even unemployment. What was disturbing about Cathay Pacific’s operation was that there appeared to have been a shocking lack of communication with its employees during the process. Such a heartless attitude has, unsurprisingly, caused public outrage (“Cathay Pacific job cuts in Hong Kong have ruined public trust in airline”, November 13).
Moreover, many former staff had already been on unpaid leave since January or had taken hefty pay cuts. It will not be easy for them, even those with specialised training, to find fresh employment at a similar salary, never mind look for an alternative career during this difficult economic time.
Rainie Wu, Kwai Chung