PRD airline making a loss? Fares too high, and loads too low? Not enough pilots because t&cs deteriorating? Difficulty finding pilots for the roster? Sounds like another (much smaller) PRD airline owned by Air China...

The next thing will be carrying 2 hours extra fuel on a gin clear day.

Hundreds of US Based Cabin Crew
 

From todays SCMP article:
"face the loss of government retirement payouts and post-retirement health care insurance protection"
While this may be slightly off topic, you can still see how this relates to the original thread "Msg from CEO"
CX was very fast with the "this is not about the money" response was it not; however they plan to save 1 Mill US p/a.... (just a coincidence)
400 CX employees may now have problems with their retirement and retirement medical plans due to a "MISTAKE".
Which CX (Swire) Director was in charge? Was it the Geologist or perhaps the Philosopher?? Ohhh Well, no big deal, only affects 400. Win some lose some, right.

Like I mentioned in the opening post "The Peter Principle" comes home to roost BIG TIME...:sad::sad:

Director "People"
 

Re the above post plus all the ongoing lawsuits in HK and in other jurisdictions regarding pay/tax or benefit compliance/labor law etc., give your opinion; just when do you think we will "EVER" see a Director People :yuk: that has an
actual Masters degree ( or above) in "Human Resources" from an accredited university (i.e. not the CX eLearning garbage or the CX?Swire "management" school they have started in HK.

20,000 +++ employees and the Director "People" has degree in Geography, makes perfect sense yes; with that degree he should at least easily be able to identify the geographic location of all the countries where they are being sued for "personnel" issues. :D

It's all just a magnificent joke :ugh::ugh:

Flex, methinks this will play out poorly unless there is some vehicle to make up for it in terms of coverage and benefits. But it does show the shallowness of depth of the decision makers that it even became an issue or publicized.

In a US venue with US based employees you cannot leave employees without IOD protection of some sort nor can you easily reverse tax/FICA decisions without consequence -- unless you provide some form of self-insurance and retirement equal to or above those lost. The US is the most litigious place on the planet with agencies that follow the maze of complex laws different ways for different people on different days -- the IRS being the most ruthless of them all.

If the F/As are happy with the action (perhaps by some form of internal coverage and pension contributions/scheme) it is possible little will come if it. But they've still flagged themselves with regulatory agencies who can cause great difficulty which is something I would not do.

If the F/As are unhappy with the decision there are huge vehicles for recourse which could make the hedging loss look like more of a speed bump.

Sorry shep69 but the 'company' deliberately do not incorporate in the usa for this reason. They operate on a 'letter of qualification' as a foreign employer and as such can screw even US citizens out of even the most basic benefits afforded real onshore employees. US based crews remain employees of the 'company' in hk which begs the question "where are their hk work permits and benefits"? The fact that the company chose to cancel benefits already paid for by staff a few months short of the 10 year qualifying period for a lot of them surely tells you something about this employer's character. They certainly jerked the rug on them when they could have flown the last 10 years for a company with a conscience.
The whole setup is fragile and smacks of paris.
Incidentally I see the EU have got together to stop asshole companies doing just this to their minions.

Company has an operation in the US employing US nationals on US soil. While absent a collective unit in the US some industrial matters might not be easily addressed there, statutory matters most certainly do fall under the jurisdiction of the US. There are some exemptions for foreign carriers, but what one law giveth another taketh away. It is hard to reverse position on something you say applies one minute and not the next. Especially if you also have some intrastate operations and duty occurring (I.e the company operation is mostly international with respect to its flights and duties but not exclusively so).

I would have just let it ride were I them and not rocked the boat.

Uh... CR, I'm not sure you understand how it works in the US. It "ain't" Hong Kong. You break the CBA in the US and the ****e hits the fan in a SBA and at the NMB. Fly in the face of the NMB and CX might find itself fined, sued, and/or disallowed from flying to the US.

The cabin crew don't have a CBA because they foolishly decided not to unionize and pursue one. It seems that might change soon if I had to guess. No doubt AFA would encourage the CX cabin crew to join them and get out of the shadows. That said, Shep is correct. These cabin crew could hurt CX very badly if they chose to enforce the laws available to them in California. Whether they know this or not is unknown, but you'd have to think they'll figure it out eventually.

Apparently the understanding isn't too deep,
Rod. The US is not only the land of litigation and fines, but the super joker of closing a base to dodge contractural obligations and legal action won't work -- not only can assets be attached and seized (and this is routinely done to lawbreakers of all sorts in the US) but also I suspect even CX would think twice about closing anything when it meant that it could no longer operate in US airports and airspace at all.

Corrupt and on expense accounts?
 

The deals on other airlines from Hong Kong to Europe seem so much better than the fares offered by CX. Why would anyone choose CX?

This is a sobering reminder that anyone who trusts the precious years of their working life to this company risks holding nothing but ruin later in life. Wake up to the fact that you are putting you and your families futures at risk if you get entangled in the CX spiderweb. Get out while you can.

Curtain rod, there is no "little US pilot basing company." All the pilots and cabin crew based in the US are employed by Cathay Pacific Airways, Ltd, not USAB.

When they shut the Paris base down. We did nothing. It's not my base who cares. When they cheated the US based cabin crew out of a benefit. We did nothing. I am not a cabin crew member. Who cares. When they close the US bases. We did nothing. Who cares about Americans. They deserve it. Arrogant knowit all folks who can't use proper rt.
When they came for us. No one was left.
Sad state CX finds itself in.

I suspect the fallout from this incident will be rather more than CX is planning on. Once the shock wears off, and the implications sink in....there will almost certainly be a case of "hell hath no fury......". Once again, CX has managed to place the needs and concerns of their staff in the waste basket. Such a "caring company". Of course, the management bonuses will reflect the millions saved. That thought should help the US cabin crew sleep better at night. Interesting days ahead....

An Update on Business Challenges (02 Oct)
 

Attachment 1188

Check the above attachment then don't forget - review the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle

Jim Collins, From Good to Great

Talking of CEO's

"They are somewhat self-effacing individuals who deflect adulation, yet who have an almost stoic resolve to do absolutely whatever it takes to make the company great, channeling their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It's not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious—but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution and its greatness, not for themselves."

Modern Corporates in all hemispheres are rarely led by such individuals...

It is most certainly the same in Australia..:ugh:

Bye Bye Ivan !
You will be gone very soon, thanks for nothing.
Hello new guy ! You will be just as bad as Ivan probably worse !

Ah Chu! I feel a cold spell coming on.