GM Reduces Employee Pay By 20%, Ford Defers Pay As Coronavirus Fears Tank Auto Sales

General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) have made cuts to their employee’s pay as the coronavirus continues to put a strain on the automakers.

General Motors told all of its about 69,000 salaried employees that their pay would temporarily be cut by 20% while Ford has taken similar measures announcing that its top 300 executive workers will have 20% to 50% of their pay deferred for at least five months, CNBC reported.

For GM, the pay reduction begins Wednesday and will be repaid with interest in a lump sum no later than March 15, 2021, with those workers that can not work from home going on paid leave, receiving 75% of their pay while keeping their benefits and seniority, the news outlet said.

GM executives will also reportedly see a 5% to 10% cut their cash compensation, excluding bonuses, stock options, or other incentives, while the GM board will take a 20% reduction in pay.

“GM’s business and its balance sheet was very strong before the COVID-19 outbreak and the steps we are taking now will help ensure that we can regain our momentum as quickly as possible after this crisis is over,” the company said in an emailed statement obtained by CNBC to employees.

Hourly workers at Ford and GM, as well as Fiat Chrysler, have been off with pay as the Big Three automakers closed production plants to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus after workers tested positive for the virus.

Shares of GM stock were down 7.27% as of 10:44 a.m. EDT on Friday while shares of Ford stock were down 3.71% at the same time.