Malaysia's Malindo Air asks staff to take up to 50% pay cut to cushion coronavirus blow

Malindo Air has ordered its staff to take up to a 50% pay cut and two weeks unpaid leave as the coroanvirus epidemic hurts air travel demand and the broader industry, according to a memo sighted by Reuters. In a company-wide memo sent on Friday, CEO Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri said the airlines have implemented several measures to cope with the revenue shortfall, including suspending flights, appealing to suppliers to defer payments, and asking staff to volunteer for unpaid leave. “With a heavy heart, with not much of any further concrete options, we are now left with no choice but to ask each one of you to take a pay cut of your basic pay of up to 50% for the next several months until normalcy returns,” Mushafiz said. As part of the pay cut, employees were asked to reduce their number of working days by up to 15 days a month. Malindo Air is the first airline in Malaysia to cut employee salary, but Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia Group and its long-haul arm AirAsia X have also taken a beating.<br/>