TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Cathay Pacific announced on Friday (Nov. 24) its plan to hire an additional 5,000 employees next year to address a staff shortage caused by a rapid rebound in travel demand.
The airline's Chief Financial Officer, Rebecca Sharpe, during an analyst meeting, said the group anticipates the strong performance of the first half of the year to continue into the second half.
Having already expanded its workforce by 4,000 this year, Cathay aims to bring on about 5,000 new employees in 2024, with positions ranging from ground staff and cabin crew to pilots.
As of the end of June this year, Cathay Pacific's staff count stood at approximately 21,900. Since June 2019, the carrier enacted major staff reductions, cutting around 11,000 employees due to the impact of the pandemic.
The resurgence of travel demand at the beginning of this year left Cathay Pacific grappling with severe staffing shortages. However, the group achieved a net profit of HK$ 4.27 billion in the first half of 2023, a significant turnaround from a loss of HK$ 5 billion in the comparable period last year.
Cathay Pacific also reported that passenger numbers in the first 10 months of 2022 soared to 14.57 million, an increase of nearly tenfold compared to the same period in 2021.
The expansion indicates a rebound as the travel industry recovers from the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.