In brief

Cathay Pacific lays off 600

Cathay Pacific Airways said yesterday it will lay off nearly 600 staff at its Hong Kong headquarters in the company’s biggest round of firings in two decades. The airline, which employs 16,500 workers in Hong Kong, said it plans to axe about 190 managers, or a quarter of all the company’s management jobs. It’s also eliminating the jobs of 400 workers in non-managerial roles. Cathay said in a statement that frontline workers, including pilots and cabin crew, would not be affected, but ‘‘will also be asked to deliver greater efficiencies and productivity’’.

Dollar hovers near low

The New Zealand dollar hovered near a multi-month low against the euro yesterday. Against the kiwi, the euro stood at NZ$1.6130, having touched a one-year peak of NZ$1.6235 on Friday. The kiwi remained largely flat against the greenback, hovering around US69.20 cents but away from Friday’s low of US68.82C.