Bilingual Editorial: Cathay Pacific must find a way out
雙語社評:國泰裁員無可奈何 絕境求生須覓出路
文章日期:2020年11月20日

雙語社評齊齊聽

[英語 (足本收聽)] Presented by Mr William Tsang, Lecturer of Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

[普通話 (足本收聽)] Presented by Dr Choi Wai-yuk, Lecturer of Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Yesterday (October 21) was a sad day in the history of Hong Kong's aviation industry, as Cathay Pacific announced nearly 6,000 lay-offs and its subsidiary Cathay Dragon ceased operations. The pandemic has paralysed the global aviation industry. Dozens of airlines have closed down, and the situation in Hong Kong is not good. The number of Cathay Pacific passengers has dropped by more than 90% amid the pandemic. Despite the government's earlier injection of funds, the pandemic has dragged on, leaving Cathay Pacific with no choice but to make such a desperate move in its struggle for survival.

[ENG audio 1]

Cathay Pacific employed more than 30,000 employees around the world, about 27,600 of them Hong Kong employees. This lay-off will affect nearly 20% of its entire workforce. Cathay says that although the company has tried to cut costs, it is still spending as much as HK$1.5 billion to HK$2 billion every month. As this cannot be sustained in the long term, the company might not be able to stay afloat if it does not lay off its staff so as to reduce its monthly net cash outflow to a sustainable level.

[ENG audio 2]

At least 43 airlines around the world had gone out of business as of early this month, as the international airline industry is frozen and many airlines earn close to nothing. Some people are pinning their hopes on the vaccine and expect it to bring the pandemic under control by the middle of next year so that the aviation industry will see light at the end of the tunnel. However, the chief scientific adviser for the British government said this week that a vaccine should not be expected to eradicate the novel coronavirus, and that it will be an acceptable outcome if scientists can effectively reduce the infectiousness of the COVID-19 virus and reduce its deadliness so that it becomes like the flu.

[ENG audio 3]

The aviation industry is in desperate situations; the hardship of lay-offs is seen all over the world. In the US, the US$20 billion rescue package for the aviation industry remains unimplemented. American Airlines and United Airlines have recently announced the lay-offs of more than ten thousand employees. In Singapore, although Singapore Airlines received a subsidy of about HK$62 billion, it still had to cut its staff by 20% to reduce expenditure. Hong Kong and Singapore are both the hubs of international air travel, and the scale of lay-offs by Cathay Pacific is similar to that of Singapore Airlines. Last month, the government launched the second phase of the ''Employment Support Scheme''. Cathay Pacific did not apply for the subsidy, which was seen as a sign of impending lay-offs. However, the lay-offs of several thousand employees are still very shocking and a piece of sad news to the employees and the whole society. The cessation of Cathay Dragon's operations after 35 years, which means a loss of an international brand that belongs to Hong Kong, is also regrettable.

[ENG audio 4]

The aviation industry is the backbone of Hong Kong's economy. The government and Cathay Pacific need to look at the bigger picture. At the same time, they have a duty to provide appropriate support for employees who have been laid off. Hong Kong's unemployment has worsened amid the pandemic, and Cathay Pacific's massive lay-offs have triggered renewed discussion on unemployment relief. However, if we take a look at the West, we will see that all countries with an unemployment relief system basically rely on high tax rates, and Hong Kong's existing low tax system and economic structure cannot support such a costly measure. There is a need to find another way to support the aviation industry and its workers.

[ENG audio 5]

國泰裁員無可奈何 絕境求生須覓出路

昨天是本港航空業史上傷感的一天,國泰宣布裁員近6000人,旗下的國泰港龍亦停止營運。疫情癱瘓全球航空業,數十間航空公司倒閉,香港的處境也相當不妙,疫下國泰客量銳減逾九成,儘管早前獲得政府注資,然而疫情曠日持久,絕境求生壯士斷臂,亦是無可奈何的選擇。

[PTH audio 1]

國泰在全球僱用逾3萬名員工,當中約2.76萬人為香港員工,今次裁員的規模,接近總員工兩成。國泰表示,雖然公司已設法節流,然而每月消耗的現金仍高達15億至20億元,長此下去無以為繼,若不裁員把每月現金淨流出降低至可持續水平,公司未必可以撐很久。

[PTH audio 2]

疫下國際航空業冰封,很多航空公司收入近乎零,迄至本月初,全球已有至少43間航空公司倒閉。一些人寄望疫苗面世後,疫情明年中漸受控制,航空業就可重見光明,然而英國政府首席科學顧問本周才表示,不要指望疫苗根絕新冠病毒,科學家若能有效降低COVID-19感染機率、減輕其殺傷力,令它最終變得好像流感那樣,已是不錯結局。

[PTH audio 3]

航空業身陷絕境,各地裁員哀歌不絕。在美國,200億美元拯救航空業新方案遲遲未落實,最近美國航空、聯合航空等已紛紛宣布裁員上萬人;在新加坡,新航早前雖獲約620億港元公帑補助,仍要裁員兩成節流。港星同為國際航空樞紐,今次國泰裁員規模,比率跟新航相近。上月港府推出第二期「保就業」計劃,國泰未有申請,已被視為裁員在即的先兆,然而裁員數千人的消息,無論對員工以至整個社會,仍是一個非常震撼的噩耗;有35年歷史的港龍停止營運,一個屬於香港的國際品牌就此消失,同樣令人傷感遺憾。

[PTH audio 4]

航空業是本港經濟支柱,政府和國泰需要着眼大局,同時亦有責任向被裁員工提供適切支援。疫下本港失業惡化,國泰大裁員,再度引發有關失業救濟的討論,可是放眼西方,但凡設有失業救濟制度的國家,基本上都要靠高稅率支持,以本港現行的低稅率制度和經濟結構,支撐不了這一成本高昂的措施,支援航空業界和從業員,需要另闢蹊徑。

[PTH audio 5]

明報社評2020.10.22