Cathay plans hiring spree to prepare for HK travel bounce

HONG KONG (Bloomberg): Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd is planning to recruit 4,000 staff between now and the end of 2023 to replenish its severely depleted workforce and gear up for an anticipated recovery in air travel as Hong Kong rebuilds itself as an aviation hub, according to Chief Executive Officer Augustus Tang.

While the hiring spree would still leave Cathay with significantly fewer employees than pre-Covid-19 times with staff numbers at levels last seen in 2007, the plan marks a turnaround in the airline’s outlook after three years of turmoil and cost cutting. Cathay employed about 16,700 people at the end of 2021.