GVK Group cuts salaries by up to 30% from May as Covid-19 impacts business

GVK Group has slashed salaries of its staff across companies by up to 30 per cent from May amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has significantly impacted markets and businesses due to a total shutdown of nearly two months, a source said on Wednesday.

The diversified group, which is into energy, resources, airports, transportation, hospitality and life sciences sectors, has around 1,800 workforce.

In the last over two months, numerous companies from across sectors have resorted to layoffs, salary cuts, deferred payments and 'Leave Without Pay' to staff to mimimise the impact of the pandemic on their revenues and sustain business in the long term.

"GVK group has trimmed the salaries of its staff by 10-30 per cent from May. As per the revised pay, the employees having a CTC (cost-to-company) of above Rs 10 lakh and up to Rs 25 lakh per annum have been given a 10 per cent cut. Similarly, the salaries of the executives whose annual gross pay is above Rs 25 lakh have been slashed by 20 per cent," the source, privy to the development, told PTI.

The maximum reduction in pay is for the senior and top management that has taken 30 per cent cut, he said.

A GVK Group spokesperson, in response to an e-mail query on the paycut, said, "We do not comment on internal matters."

The response to a query on this issue to Group's Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Mumbai international Airport Ltd (MIAL) Sanjay Reddy remained unanswered.

A consortium-led by GVK group in partnership with Airports Authority of India manages and operates the country's second busiest airport, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj international Airport of Mumbai.

GVK rival GMR group has also reduced the salaries of its staff by up to 50 per cent from May.

"In view of the challenges faced by the infrastructure sector/industry due to Covid-19, GMR has taken steps to restructure the compensation of employees," a spokesperson of the New Delhi-based conglomerate had told PTI on Wednesday.