Cathay Pacific Airways jumped to the highest in a month on Wednesday after it announced a HK$2.2 billion (US$284 million) restructuring that will see the biggest job cuts in its history and the closure of the Cathay Dragon brand.
The shares of Hong Kong’s flagship carrier rose 2.3 per cent to HK$5.85, its highest since September 18. It gained as much as 6.5 per cent to HK$6.10 in intraday trading.
The carrier has lost more than a third of its value since tumbling from the year’s high of HK$9.025 on January 22, a day before China imposed a sweeping lockdown in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak on the mainland, to curb the spread of the deadly disease.
Cathay plans to eliminate 8,500 jobs, making a total of 5,300 staff redundant in Hong Kong and close its wholly-owned unit Cathay Dragon Airlines with immediate effect, it said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing before the market opened for trading. The South China Morning Post first reported the restructuring on Tuesday.
‘Like we’ve lost a home’: Cathay Dragon employees surprised, shaken by decision to axe Hong Kong airline
Lisa Mok woke up on Wednesday to the news her 10-year run as a Cathay Dragon flight attendant was over – and so was the airline.
Mok* had not been aboard a flight since January, as the spread of Covid-19 ground global travel to a halt. She was soon asked to go on unpaid leave, then watched helplessly as her monthly salary was halved.
“There had been rumours in the past half year that there could be job cuts, but no one ever expected the entire airline would shut down overnight,” said Mok, who is in her early 30s.
Source:SCMP
