Cathay Pacific to Lay off 300 Cabin Crew

Big cuts are coming to Cathay Pacific. The carrier has announced that it plans to lay off around 300 cabin crew members.

The cuts will come mostly from the United States where Cathay Pacific will lay off almost 300 employees. Cathay will also furlough 129 pilots in Australia and 72 in Britain. Cathay’s Australian Airbus pilots will stop work on May 1 and their furlough will continue until June 30. The airline informed its staff via memo earlier today. In reference to the large layoffs of US cabin crew, the airline said that it was “no longer viable” to keep employing US-based flight attendants.

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents Cathay crew in the US, said: “We are devastated. These flight attendants are cherished members of our union. We will be working to achieve severance and continued health care for as long as possible. And we will work to support them in every way we can.”

This move comes roughly a week after the Hong Kong government extended a bailout of HK$80 billion with HK$9,000 earmarked for six months of employee salaries. Cathay has not announced whether or not it will accept the funds, but the funds do come with the stipulation that Cathay doesn’t fire anyone else.

In March, Cathay Pacific made further cuts to its international crew members when it closed its Vancouver base, which ended 147 jobs. In 2019, Cathay Pacific closed its Toronto base and 120 employees lost their jobs.