Temasek Holdings Private Ltd., the Singapore government investment company, announced a series of "salary restraint" measures for the coming fiscal year in solidarity with its portfolio companies' struggles now resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Temasek will freeze wages for all staff for the organization's "compensation cycle" for the April 1 start of the new fiscal year, a spokesman said. Temasek oversaw S$313 billion ($230.8 billion) in assets as of March 31, the close of its latest fiscal year.
Senior management, meanwhile, will also take a partial cut in the variable component of their base compensation of 5% to 15%, depending on seniority, according to a news release.
And on a voluntary basis, senior staff can donate up to 5% of their base salaries for up to one year to Temasek's staff volunteer initiative, T-Touch, "to support public health infectious diseases emergencies globally, with dollar-for-dollar matching by Temasek," the news release said.
The spokesman said the moves are a way for the organization to "stand alongside our companies" at a time when the COVID-19 crisis is forcing them to make hard decisions.
Depending on how quickly the outbreak is resolved, the salary issues could be reviewed during the coming year, he said.
COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that's a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past. More than 2,700 people have died from the disease.
