IndiGo to cut staff pay, AI may follow suit

would be said.

Siddhartha Khemka, head-retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said, "Technically, there is no sign of reversal and we may see Nifty continue to fall towards 7,900 and then

7,500 levels."

On a day of high volatility NSE's Nifty Auto index suffered worst one-day fall by 6.09 per cent due to the sharp fall in Ashok Leyland (-25.49 per cent), Maruti (-9.22 per cent), Bharat Forge (-12.13 per cent), Mahindra & Mahindra (-8.70 per cent) and Eicher Motors (-5.00 per cent).

Private banks also continued to bleed with Nifty Bank index down by 2.41 per cent, led by heavy fall in Bandhan Bank (-11.32 per cent), Axis Bank (-9.60 per cent), ICICI Bank (5.53 per cent), IndusInd Bank (-4.95 per cent). State Bank of India also fell 5.46 per cent, closing at Rs

203.45; it touched intraday low of Rs 198.15 on the NSE. sold into, analysts

New Delhi, March 19: IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta announced on Thursday that the airline was instituting pay cuts for senior employees and he would himself take the highest cut of 25 per cent amid the coronavirus pandemic that has hit the aviation industry hard.

Air India may also cut salary of employees by 5 per cent amid its growing financial woes, compounded by the pandemic.

In an email to employees, Dutta said with the precipitous drop in revenues, the very survival of the airline industry is now at stake. "We have to pay careful attention to our cash flow so that we do not run out of cash."

"With a great deal of reluctance and a deep sense of regret, we are therefore instituting pay cuts for all employees, excluding Bands A and B, starting April 1, 2020," he said.

Band A and B are the lowest salry brackets, where most of the employees are.

"I am personally taking a 25 per cent pay cut, SVPs (senior vice presidents) and above are taking 20 per cent, VPs and cockpit crew are taking a 15 per cent pay cut, AVPs, Bands D along with cabin crew will take 10 per cent and Band Cs 5 per cent," Dutta noted.

Sources said, "Air India is considering a 5 per cent pay cut to its employees, as it faces huge financial crisis due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, which has brought almost its entire international operations save the US, Canada and a few other markets, to the ground."

The national carrier has also decided to take off from flying its over 100 reemployed pilots on contract as part of cost cutting measures.