Cathay Pacific will cut around 600 jobs from its head office and restructure its cargo division under its transformation programme aimed at returning to profitability.
The Oneworld carrier says in a statement that around 190 managerial roles will be cut, representing roughly one quarter of its management ranks. In addition, 400 non-managerial roles will also be made redundant, about 18% of those positions.
Cathay will also restructure management of its cargo business by cutting the cargo director position, and the relevant operational and commercial areas of the cargo division will report into the existing passenger management structures.
Employees affected by the cuts will receive severance packages of up to 12 months' salary, and other support services.
No frontline operational positions will be cut, however the airline says that its other staff "will be asked to deliver greater efficiencies and productivity improvements, in line with the rest of the organisation."
Chief executive Rupert Hogg says that the carrier has had to make tough decisions to secure the future of its business.
"Changes in people’s travel habits and what they expect from us, evolving competition and a challenging business outlook have created the need for significant change," he adds.
Cathay flagged in March that it was seeking to reduce head office personnel costs by 30%, but at that stage had not said how many staff would be affected by job cuts.
The airline posted an operating loss of HK$525 million ($70.2 million) for the year ended 31 December 2016, as a strong local currency, slowing Chinese economic growth, and intense competition put pressure on yields.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
