(Yicai Global) March 6 -- The coronavirus outbreak has put more pressure on China's real estate sector, which was already reeling from slumping demand. To dial down labor costs, some developers and brokers have begun to trim salaries and delay payments.

CapitaLand said at the end of last month that basic salaries and allowances for executives and board members would be cut between 5 percent and 15 percent from April 1, and that pay rises for all managers and above would be frozen. The company also promised to re-evaluate the cuts after six months or after the epidemic is under control.

Singapore-based CapitaLand was the first developer to voluntarily implement executive pay cuts, Yicai Global learned. A large number of real estate companies are also working on plans to lower labor costs.

"We've designed a new salary system, mainly aimed at lowering the basic salary and linking the reduced portion to the performance appraisal," a human resources manager at a top 20 developer told Yicai Global. "It entails setting stricter assessment criteria."

An executive at a developer based in Shanghai's Hongqiao said his group has 170 employees at its headquarters, which will eventually be cut to 100. The other 70 staffers will be deployed to frontline projects at our affiliates. Some will choose to resign, he said, adding that that is another way to reorganize the business.

Apart from developers, real estate brokerages have not been spared either. New York-listed Fang.Com became the first to delay salary payments in the sector. In an internal memo issued on March 4, it changed the date for paying February salaries from the end of last month to yesterday. The wages of regular employees will also be cut by a quarter, while those for executives will drop by a third. That will be made up in the future depending on the firm's performance.

Fang's staff complained about the delay: "We've been working at home during the Covid-19 outbreak, and accomplished a large number of tasks online. Yet we can't get full pay."

In addition to paying less, Fang also requires employees to deduct the days when they can't or don't go to work due to the outbreak from their annual holidays.

"The company verbally told us to deduct the days working at home from the annual holidays or to take leave if the holidays are used up," an employee said. "Taking leave means no pay, though we've been working online."

Editors: Tang Shihua, Peter Thomas