A 25% pay cut to someone on £100 000 per year is much more manageable then it is to someone on £25 000 per year, as long as the higher earner hasn't committed himself right up to his income level. A temporary pay cut pay is preferable to a jobs cut so hopefully everyone can work together to minimise redundancies. Once normality returns, which may take a few years, then it's time for some serious bargaining over pay and conditions but at the moment it's belt tightening.