Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) top executives and salaried workers around the globe will take pay cuts in an act of "shared sacrifice" brought on by the coronavirus pandemic that has shuttered the automaker's plants in Europe and North America, according to a company memo seen by Reuters.

CEO Mike Manley said in the memo he will take a 50 per cent pay cut for three months starting April 1, while chairman John Elkann and FCA's board of directors will forego the remainder of their 2020 compensation. FCA said most global salaried employees will be asked to take a temporary 20 per cent pay cut.



"Protecting the financial health of the company is everyone's responsibility and naturally starts with myself and the leadership of FCA," Manley wrote.

Members of the automaker's group executive council will also take a 30 per cent pay cut, according to the memo.

Last week, number one U.S. automaker General Motors said it planned to keep its plants closed indefinitely and was reducing the pay of salaried employees and executives and suspending some future product programs to conserve cash.

GM's chief executive and chief financial officer issued a stark warning to company employees in an internal video, saying that "significant austerity measures" were needed to preserve the company's long-term viability.

To save cash, Ford also said it was temporarily cutting top executives' salaries.