Dublin Airport and Cork Airport operator DAA will put the majority of its employees on a four-day working week from April 26 until June 20 and reduce their pay due to the COVID-19 crisis.
According to The Irish Times, DAA chief executive Dalton Philips said in a note to staff, "Due to the reduced hours, the amount you will be paid will be reduced to 80% of its current level."
Dalton stated that a small number of "highly-skilled designated essential frontline staff" at Dublin Airport will continue to work full-time throughout the COVID-19 crisis and will not have their pay cut.
Dalton added, "I know that this is a huge level of pain for everybody to take, and it is not a decision that we have taken lightly."
Necessary Cost Cuts
The chief executive said that DAA investigated various options, but significant further cost cuts are necessary because it costs the company approximately €10 million weekly to run its business and it currently has almost no revenue coming in due to the COVID-19 crisis.
DAA has applied for the government's COVID-19 temporary wage subsidy scheme.
Philips also told workers, "At this point it is impossible to predict what the world will look like by June 20th, so I'm afraid we can't provide certainty beyond that date."
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