COVID-19: Wage freeze at CapitaLand, senior management to take a pay cut

From 1 April 2020, CapitaLand's board members and senior management team will take a 5% to 15% reduction in their board fees and base salaries, in support of their stakeholders during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

The group has also implemented a wage freeze for all staff at the managerial level and above, as announced in its FY 2019 financial results report yesterday (26 February).

These measures will either be reviewed after six months, or when the position arising from the outbreak has stabilised.

In support of the firm's retail partners in Singapore, a portion of the managerial staff's compensation will be paid in CapitaVouchers totalling about S$2mn, for use in CapitaLand malls. At the same time, CapitaLand has also pledged about S$2.3mn in donations, as a start, to support healthcare workers and affected communities in Singapore and China through the CapitaLand Hope Foundation.

Commenting on the decision behind this step, Lee Chee Koon, Group CEO of CapitaLand Group, said: "The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has definitely affected our businesses and those of our partners and tenants, especially in China and Singapore.  The extent of the impact will depend on how long the outbreak lasts. Nevertheless, we remain positive on the long-term fundamentals for Singapore and China.

"Our priority is to ensure the wellbeing of our staff, tenants and patrons. At the same time, we will proactively manage our business, including giving targeted relief measures to tenants and contributing to efforts to help the community and medical staff dealing with COVID-19. CapitaLand will fight and ride through this difficult period together with our stakeholders."

In a message to employees, posted on CapitaLand's LinkedIn page, Lee also mentioned that in line with the government's call to upgrade employees' skills during this period, the group plans to offer relevant training programmes for retailers, under its signature Biz+Series.

See the full post below:

Photo / CapitaLand