Salary cuts may stop layoffs
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Sevda Yüzbaşıoğlu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 06, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL- Everyone is paying the price for the much delayed government support package. Workers cave into salary cuts, administrative officers give up salary hikes and bosses bear production losses.
Each day a country reveals a support package to fight the impact of the global economic crisis. There is still no action taken in Turkey, which causes more and more frustration everyday with news of more and more lay offs. Recently, some companies also began to resort to salary reductions. Meaning, on one hand, some employees are losing their jobs, while on the other hand, others are bearing a loss of a substantial portion of their salaries in hopes of being able to keep their jobs.
Employees at the Hyundai factory in the northwestern province of Kocaeli have requested salary reductions, hoping to prevent the company from laying off any of their co-workers, said Ali Kibar, Hyundai Assan board chairman. Meanwhile, employees claim the offer came from the company. It has been said that a contract signed with employees include the phrase "I request a salary cut of 50 percent in all leave of absences."
White-collar employees of Koç Holding, Turkey's largest conglomerate, are also making sacrifices. White-collar employees gave up on their salary hike demands for the next year, said Bület Bulgurlu, company’s chief executive officer, or CEO. "I really value the solutions employees and employers can create with a conciliatory approach during these times of distress. Because it is a time to solve troubles together."
Alternatives
Kale Group, a key player in the Turkish building industry, is focusing on alternative solutions in order to survive the contraction in its trade volume, caused by a distressed construction industry, without laying off any workers. As part of a plan, all employees of the company, including Board Chairman Zeynep Bodur and other administrators, will not be paid for five working days each month for the next three months. Therefore, they will receive two and a half months’ salary for the three months they have worked.
Twigy Terlik, a Turkish slipper manufacturer, is also considering salary reductions instead of firing employees. Sinan Öcel, the owner of the company, however, said that all the money cut from employees’ salaries during the crisis should be paid back when the economic situation improves.
Employees at the Hyundai factory in the northwestern province of Kocaeli have requested salary reductions, hoping to prevent the company from laying off any of their co-workers, said Ali Kibar, Hyundai Assan board chairman. Meanwhile, employees claim the offer came from the company. It has been said that a contract signed with employees include the phrase "I request a salary cut of 50 percent in all leave of absences."
White-collar employees of Koç Holding, Turkey's largest conglomerate, are also making sacrifices. White-collar employees gave up on their salary hike demands for the next year, said Bület Bulgurlu, company’s chief executive officer, or CEO. "I really value the solutions employees and employers can create with a conciliatory approach during these times of distress. Because it is a time to solve troubles together."
Alternatives
Kale Group, a key player in the Turkish building industry, is focusing on alternative solutions in order to survive the contraction in its trade volume, caused by a distressed construction industry, without laying off any workers. As part of a plan, all employees of the company, including Board Chairman Zeynep Bodur and other administrators, will not be paid for five working days each month for the next three months. Therefore, they will receive two and a half months’ salary for the three months they have worked.
Twigy Terlik, a Turkish slipper manufacturer, is also considering salary reductions instead of firing employees. Sinan Öcel, the owner of the company, however, said that all the money cut from employees’ salaries during the crisis should be paid back when the economic situation improves.