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Airline asks 27,000 employees to take unpaid leave amid coronavirus concerns

Posted at 4:48 AM, Feb 05, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-05 06:48:39-05

HONG KONG — Cathay Pacific Airways is asking its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave while the Hong Kong carrier struggles with plunging revenue due to China's virus outbreak.

The newspaper South China Morning Post reported CEO Augustus Tang, in a video message to employees, said the situation is as grave as the 2009 financial crisis.

This week, Cathay announced a 90% reduction in capacity to mainland China, which has canceled group tours and told business people to put off foreign travel while Beijing fights the outbreak that began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

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