CARRIER Malindo Air has instructed its employees to take up to a 50% pay cut and two weeks unpaid leave as travel demand drops amid the Covid-19 epidemic, reported Reuters.

Reuters sighted a company-wide memo sent yesterday, stating the airline had implemented measures to cushion the reduced revenue.

Chief executive officer Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri wrote that the measures included 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 in the memo.

Employees were also asked to reduce their working days by up to 15 days a month, reported Reuters.

Malindo Air did not respond to requests for comment.

Malindo Air is the first airline in Malaysia to cut employee salary.

Meanwhile, national carrier Malaysia Airlines and budget carrier AirAsia Group Berhad, including AirAsia X, have also been affected since the outbreak start late last year.

AirAsia X reported last month ticket sales to Japan, South Korea and Australia dropped but the Chinese market was the hardest hit. – March 7, 2020.