Lemon Tree has announced that its senior leadership will take a pay cut due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Patu Keswani, Chairman of listed hospitality chain Lemon Tree Hotels has sent an email to his employees stating in order to ensure job security to all staff members, the chain is undertaking salary cuts for the management or leadership teams.

Keswani wrote he is taking a 100% salary cut, while assistant VPs to executive VPs will take a 66% salary cut. Assistant managers to general managers will take a 50% cut at the chain and this will apply across the entire group and its subsidiary companies.

He said the cuts will be applicable for three months: April, May, and June. He further wrote that Lemon Tree will have weekly reviews and as the situation changes it will quickly take additional measures as required including partial/full withdrawals of salary cuts.

There has been an over 80% drop in occupancy levels and therefore revenue for Lemon Tree Hotels across India (in fact we have had to shut down operations of many hotels in the group due to zero business). This alarming situation is now playing out across nearly all hotels worldwide. Equally worryingly, we don’t foresee any signs of recovery in India in the next few months,” Keswani wrote.

The chain is also enforcing a complete hiring freeze until the situation normalizes. Employees of the chain who wish to go on long leave without pay (from one to three months) in order to spend time with family especially after the lifting of the national lockdown on 14th April can also opt for the same, the letter stated.

Earlier companies like Indigo, JK Tyres, Singapore Airlines announced its leaders and senior management is taking a pay cut amidst COVID-19.