Cinemark Cuts Employee Wages Temporarily After Coronavirus Closes Theaters

By Rebecca Rubin

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Cinemark is temporarily reducing wages for all U.S. employees while its theaters remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With these measures, workers salaries will be cut by around 50%. All employees are working reduced hours and will still maintain full benefits. ’s CEO Mark Zoradi and the board of directors are voluntarily forgoing their entire salaries during the closures to support the company’s cash preservation efforts, while executives at the company have chosen to take steeper pay cuts to support team members.

“The dramatic global impact of the (COVID-19), has created a turbulent environment that is changing daily and dramatically affecting everyone,” Zoradi said in a statement. “During this time, I am most concerned about the impact this unprecedented situation has had on our Cinemark team members and their families.”

The pay cuts are in hopes that Cinemark can retain as many employees as possible, as well as ensure the theater chain can reopen when the pandemic subsides. Cinemas across the country are closed for an indefinite period of time, and theater chains are grappling with how to meet financial and contractual obligations while they are not generating any revenue.

“Cinemark’s priority as it navigates through this uncertainty is to ensure that the company will be able to once again open theatres and employ our global team members,” Zoradi said. “I look forward to the day in the hopefully not-to-distant future when the Cinemark team can once again welcome guests to enjoy the immersive moviegoing experience we offer at our theatres.”