Cathay Pacific To Shut Toronto Base
Jackie Reddy February 13, 2019
Cathay Pacific has announced that it will be closing its crew base in Toronto. The news was delivered to staff who were told of the closure after being offered a meeting with the carrier’s representatives just after the Lunar New Year celebrations. Cathay says the base is not commercially viable.
Cathay Pacific has announced that it will be closing its crew base in Toronto, The South China Morning Post reports. An internal document seen by the outlet states that staff were only told of the closure after being offered a meeting at an airport hotel with representatives of the carrier just after the Lunar New Year celebrations.
The outlet reports that, in an attempt to salvage its finances, the past few years have seen the Hong Kong-based carrier cut jobs on a global scale.
In an extract from the memo, the outlet quoted the carrier as stating that, “The commercial viability of the Toronto cabin crew base has been a concern to us for some time.” 120 members of cabin crew are said to be impacted by the closure, but the carrier has also added that no jobs have been axed as yet.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) was consulted by the carrier for its advice on the closure of Cathay’s Toronto crew base.
Offering its comments, the outlet quoted CUPE as saying that, “CUPE is deeply dismayed by Cathay Pacific’s announcement that the company intends to close its Toronto base, which will cause more than 120 flight attendants to lose their jobs. This latest news, and the lack of consultation surrounding the decision, reflects a disturbing pattern of indifference by the company toward its loyal employees.”
A spokesperson for Cathay confirmed the news, saying, “As part of our ongoing business review, we have made a decision to close down our Toronto cabin crew base.”
