Cathay Pacific slashes 8,500 jobs and closes regional airline

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways is to cut 8,500 jobs and shut its regional airline, Cathay Dragon (Lynne Cameron/PA)

Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific Airways has announced it will cut 8,500 jobs, or about 24% of its workforce, and shut a regional airline as it grapples with the plunge in air travel due to the pandemic.

About 5,300 employees based in Hong Kong and another 600 elsewhere are likely to lose their jobs, while 2,600 unfilled positions will also be cut, Cathay Pacific said in a statement.