Planes are parked unused at its home airport, flights across its network like Rome and Washington have been canceled because of low demand, and the airline is temporarily closing some of its premium lounges.
Cathay used a similar playbook during previous shocks, including the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic and the global financial crisis, both of which it rebounded from relatively quickly.
This time, though, Cathay was already dealing with an internal crisis before the virus hit.
Last year, it fired dozens of employees sympathetic to widespread anti-government protests in the city, and its two top executives resigned after criticism from China.
That means there is less goodwill among staff being asked to take three weeks of unpaid leave, six employees told Reuters on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with media.
"No one is lining up to personally sacrifice for this company - not anymore," a Cathay pilot said. "We have all seen how quickly the company and economy recover from these things, and in hindsight they are but a blip on the timeline of Cathay’s business."
The carrier is the most-exposed airline outside mainland China to falling demand caused by the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which has killed more than 1,300 people and sickened more than 60,000.