SINGAPORE - Transport giant ComfortDelGro has joined a growing list of companies which are cutting fees and salaries at the top in the light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic which has affected business on all fronts.

In a statement Monday (April 6), ComfortDelGro said directors of the group as well as subsidiaries SBS Transit and Vicom will take a 20 per cent cut in fees till the end of the year.

Senior management will do likewise, starting with group chief executive Yang Ban Seng, who will take a 15 per cent pay cut while those ranked vice-president and above will see a 10 per cent salary reduction.

The cuts will be effective from April and will be reviewed at the end of June.

Group chairman Lim Jit Poh described the move as "necessary". He said: "These are extraordinarily difficult times. Our taxi drivers, who are our key partners, are already reeling from the dramatic fall in demand - not just in Singapore but in all the locations we operate in."

Mr Lim said the group "will continue to see how we can reduce non-essential expenditure whilst ensuring there is no degradation to our services - so long as they are required".

Mr Yang added that one of the key priorities is to preserve jobs. "My senior management and I are doing whatever we can to ensure that we ride through this storm together as a group."

Other big companies which have announced pay cuts for senior management since February include SMRT, Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore Airlines, Sats, SP Group and CapitaLand.