Singapore's Primary Newspaper Publisher to Cut Wages

By: Singapore Press Holdings Ltd., which publishes most of the city-state's newspapers and magazines, said Thursday it will cut the salaries of 3,000 workers as it attempts to stay profitable amid a severe recession.

The company, which owns 17 newspapers in four languages and two radio stations, plans to reduce wages by between 2 percent and 10 percent starting April 1. Staff with higher salaries will see a bigger percentage cut while workers earning less than 2000 Singapore dollars ($1,300) a month will not be paid less, the company said.

"We need to bring our costs down in the face of a weaker advertising market and uncertain business environment," Chief Executive Alan Chan said in a statement. "It is imperative that we prepare for a longer than expected downturn."

Singapore's gross domestic product plunged a seasonally adjusted, annualized 17 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter as a collapse in demand from the U.S., Europe and Japan hit the country's exports.

The government expects the economy to shrink between 2 percent and 5 percent this year.