Cathay Pacific eliminates 17 jobs from its IT department amid continuing slowdown in passenger traffic
The airline faces ongoing challenges as airport fees set to rise, and newly-opened Shanghai Disneyland lures tourists further north
Cathay Pacific Airways has laid off the head of its information technology department and 16 other staff, a week after chairman John Slosar said there were no plans for staff cutbacks in a cost-cutting campaign involving a hiring freeze announced last month.
In an emailed response to the Post, Cathay confirmed it had laid off director of information technology Joe Locandro and 16 other IT staff on Monday, saying it was a “realignment” of its IT organisation aimed at raising productivity.
“This is not a cost-control exercise and there is no plan for redundancy,” it said. “There are more than 700 staff in the IT department and the realignment involved changes in 17 jobs.”
A spokeswoman said the changes were part of a wider realignment. An internal notice said as “a result of the restructuring, IT will now report into the portfolio of director corporate development Paul Loo”, who would be assisted by three new general managers.
Meanwhile, the airline said passenger traffic last month fell 1.3 per cent from a year ago, deepening a contraction from April, with the outlook facing continued challenges as passenger and aircraft fees are set to rise. In April, passenger traffic declined 0.1 per cent.
Cathay and its subsidiary Hong Kong Dragon Airlines yesterday reported combined traffic results showing passenger loads fell 1.9 percentage points to 84 per cent last month. Business as measured by revenue passenger kilometres declined in all markets except Southeast Asia.
Cathay said the weaker results were owing to seasonal factors, strong competition and weaker-than-expected demand for its premium cabins.
