Air Canada will temporarily lay off 16,500 employees starting this week as the airline struggles with fallout from the coronavirus global pandemic.

CBC Canada reports that effective this Friday, the layoffs of 15,200 unionized workers and 1,300 managers will last through April and May amid drastically reduced flight capacity from the Montreal-based airline.

"To furlough such a large proportion of our employees is an extremely painful decision but one we are required to take given our dramatically smaller operations for the next while," chief executive officer Calin Rovinescu said in a statement.

Rovinescu and CFO Michael Rousseau will forego 100 per cent of their salaries for the second quarter, the company said in a statement. Other senior executives will lose between 25 and 50 per cent of their salaries, while members of the board will forego 25 per cent.

The airline says it will also stop buying back its shares while the current crisis unfolds.

The carrier has halted most of its international and U.S. routes in response to the global shutdown.