Three in five Czech firms cutting wages

Around every three in five Czech firms are cutting employees' salaries due to a drop in orders as a result of the global downturn, the Czech Confederation of Industry said on Tuesday. In its survey of 1,600 companies, the industry association found 61 percent are lowering wages. The association said one option firms were using was to cut bonuses.
Czech industry has seen output drop by a fifth this year, and the export-driven economy shrank a record 3.4 percent in the first quarter as western demand for Czech-made cars, auto parts and electronics sank. An April survey from the association showed 90 percent of firms expected a drop in orders this year, with around two-fifths seeing an 11-30 percent fall, and a third expecting a fall of more than 30 percent.