SIA Engineering Company management to take deeper pay cuts to mitigate Covid-19 impact

SINGAPORE — The management of aircraft maintenance provider SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) will take deeper pay cuts to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a media release on Thursday (April 2), the company said that from April 1, its chief executive officer will take a 25 per cent pay cut, while the executive vice-president gets a 20 per cent cut.

This comes just three weeks after the company announced that the CEO and the executive vice-president are taking a 12 per cent and 10 per cent cut respectively, with effect from March 15.

Senior vice-presidents will take a pay cut of 8 per cent on April 1, which will rise to 15 per cent from May 1.

Vice-presidents will see a pay cut of 7 per cent on April 1, which will increase to 12 per cent from May 1.

Senior managers and managers will have their pay cut by 5 per cent on April 1, which goes up to 10 per cent from May 1.

SIAEC added that it has been working closely with its unions on other measures, including a voluntary no-pay-leave scheme offered to all staff members, compulsory no-pay leave, furlough (leave of absence) for staff members on re-employment contracts and the deferment of salary increments and promotions.

The company will also defer non-essential operating costs, non-essential capital expenditure as well as the timing of certain payments.

These steps were taken after the demand for air travel saw an unprecedented collapse due to strict border entry restrictions put up to contain the spread of Covid-19 worldwide, SIAEC said.

"We will also take measures to maintain adequate liquidity over the uncertain duration of this unexpected crisis and severe disruption," the company added.