Temasek freezes wages with voluntary pay cut for senior management

Singapore state investment firm Temasek is implementing a salary and promotion freeze for its employees amidst the uncertain outlook due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Meanwhile, its senior management which includes managing directors and above, are asked to take a voluntary 5% pay cut and have their annual bonuses partially cut for a period of up to one year, the company said in a statement on February 25.

This is not the first time Temasek has implemented a salary freeze, having done so during the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003 as well as the global financial crisis in 2008.

The state investor said that the budget set aside for the salary and promotion increases will be donated to its staff volunteer initiative T-Touch to help support the community during these challenging times.

The voluntary pay cut by the senior management will also be matched dollar-for-dollar by the company towards the same initiative.