General Motors announced a temporary pay cut of 20%, affecting 69,000 salaried employees.

General Motors, an American carmaker, said on Thursday that all its salaried employees will temporarily cut their salaries by 20% to save the company cash in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic. The decision will affect nearly 69,000 employees.

The above salary reduction decision will take effect this Wednesday (March 25th), and the withheld employee's salary will be paid in one lump sum with interest before March next year 15.

Nearly 6,500 American employees who can't work from home will get paid leave, which GM calls "paid leave". ? Workers will get 75% salary, extend their qualifications and retain medical benefits.

In addition to delaying the payment of 20% of white-collar wages, company executives will also reduce their cash salary by 5% or 10% according to their positions, excluding bonuses, stock options or other incentives. ? GM's board of directors will reduce total compensation by 20%.

"Before the COVID-19 outbreak, GM's business and balance sheet were very strong, and the measures we are taking now will help ensure that we can restore the previous momentum as soon as possible after the crisis." ? The company said in an e-mail statement.

GM disclosed how much money the above measures can save the company.

Earlier on Thursday, Ford Motor Company announced that starting from May 1 day, 20%-50% of the salaries of the top 300 executives of the company will be delayed for at least five months. Ford Motor Executive Chairman Bill Ford (Bill? Ford) will delay the payment of all wages within the above time.

Ford employees' salary increase based on performance and overtime will be temporarily postponed.

The American carmaker said it needed to cut costs as soon as possible, including freezing almost all recruitment places and stopping some ongoing projects. However, Ford stressed that the cost reduction plan will not involve layoffs for the time being.

Under the pressure of the United Auto Workers Union, Detroit's three major automakers, including GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, suspended their domestic automobile manufacturing business last week. The union said the move was to reduce the risk of its members being infected with the virus.

General Motors shares closed at $22.56 on Thursday, up 5% from the previous trading day. Ford shares fell 2.6%.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.