Cathay Pacific denies media report of further job cuts

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said a Tuesday report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper that it plans to cut an additional 200 jobs on top of 600 already announced was incorrect. "The number of redundancies resulting from the transformation programme is around 600, as we announced to our people and the public yesterday. Rumours of other figures are incorrect," a spokesman for the airline said in an email. The SCMP report came a day after Cathay said it was slashing the 600 jobs at its head office, comprising 25 percent of management and 18 percent of non-managerial positions, its biggest headcount reduction in almost two decades. The newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, said the 200 additional jobs to be cut would come from junior ranks before the conclusion of restructuring at the end of this year. The job cuts are the first step in a three-year reorganisation plan the airline announced this year. (Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree and Brenda Goh; Editing by Stephen Coates)