Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways asked its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave, saying preserving cash was key for the carrier and that conditions were as grave as during the 2009 financial crisis due to the virus outbreak.
Cathay is also asking suppliers for price reductions, putting in place hiring freezes, postponing major projects and stopping all non-critical spending, Chief Executive Augustus Tang said in a video message to staff seen by Reuters.
On Tuesday, the carrier said it planned to cut about 30 percent of capacity over the next two months, including about 90 percent of flights to mainland China.