Icelandair cuts staff, reduces management pay to cushion corona impact

Icelandair said on Monday it will cut 240 jobs, temporarily move 92% of remaining staff to part-time employment and cut management pay in a move to absorb the effect of the coronavirus outbreak on its business.

The airline is currently operating only 14% of its planned flights, and expects that to decline further in the coming weeks. As a result, the company will cut 240 jobs from a total workforce of 4,715 based on last year's average.

Remaining full-time staff will temporarily have their salary cut by 20%, it said. Executive management will have their pay reduced by 25% and the chief executive and broad of directors by 30%. "These measures limit the number of layoffs and positively impact the company's cash flow in the short-term," Icelandair said in a statement.