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According to the South China Morning Post, Cathay Pacific Airways has issued its clearest warning yet that it will shed jobs in its overseas operations. A source said the coming job cuts would likely affect markets with the largest number of staff – such as Australia, the United States and Britain, the newspaper said.

The report continues: Cathay Pacific lost HK$1.25 billion last year and HK$575 million in 2016, largely brought about by intense competition from mainland Chinese rivals and budget airlines.

The newspaper quotes a source familiar with the airline’s plans saying there will be changes involving the “consolidation” of overseas sales, marketing, cargo and airport-based operations. The move comes about one year after Cathay said in its company magazine, The Journey, that it was “starting a comprehensive review of our outports – how they work with [our headquarters], which will have an impact on their own organisational structures”.

Trimming the workforce is part of the airline’s efforts to slash HK$4 billion from its books to reverse two years of back-to-back losses.

About HK$1 billion is expected to come from scaling back pilots’ benefits and allowances, but the airline has yet to reach a deal with aircrew.

Last May, Cathay slashed 600 head office jobs as a first step in a three-year exercise and spent HK$224 million on restructuring.

Edited by Ian McIntosh