ASB staff with a base salary of more than $50,000 are having their pay frozen as the bank tries to hold onto jobs.
Other staff are having increases pegged at between 2 percent and 3 percent. An option is being provided for staff to voluntarily reduce work hours, and the pool of bonuses scheduled to be paid in August is being "significantly" reduced.
Announcing the moves to staff today, ASB chief executive Charles Pink said he recognised a pay freeze was a significant step.
"... in that spirit, I and my executive team volunteered to lead by example and take a reduction in our own salaries. This reduction will take effect on 1 July," Mr Pink said.
"Our challenge in these difficult times is to take responsible actions to maintain ASB's strong, sound financial position, for the benefit of our customers, colleagues and the communities in which we operate.
"These cost reductions are aimed at protecting jobs at ASB in the face of pressures on revenue driven by the global recession." Last week's confirmation that ASB would not be moving any of its New Zealand banking operations or roles offshore had been viewed positively by staff, particularly those working in call centres and information technology areas where other banks were outsourcing jobs.
"Redundancies have always been the absolute last resort at ASB and we are determined to do whatever we can to ensure that this remains the case in our business in the future," Mr Pink said.
"This can best be achieved by taking action to save costs responsibly now."
