Pay freezes 'counter-productive', says Boeing boss

Freezing wages and eliminating bonuses to avoid job losses would be counter-productive for Boeing and other big employers, the aerospace company’s chief executive said.

In an email to Boeing employees, printed on the website of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper, Jim McNerney said such moves would hurt the company’s ability to attract and retain high-performing employees.

The memo is one of the first responses by a major corporate chief executive to proposals for redundancy alternatives.

Such requests have gained force in the deepening recession since US president Barack Obama praised “the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job” in his inaugural address last month.