MANILA - (UPDATE) Cebu Pacific, the Philippines' largest carrier, said Monday its senior management took pay cuts to avoid layoffs, as the coronavirus outbreak sapped demand for air travel worldwide.

Rival Philippine Airlines earlier laid off 300 workers as the spread of COVID 19 aggravated losses from the previous year.

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Cebu Pacific spokeswoman Charo Logarta-Lagamon confirmed the pay cuts saying the airline's senior management all agreed that "it was the right thing to do."

Cebu Pacific has around 4,000 employees.

Logarta did not say how much the pay cuts amounted to, but a report on Esquire online said the company's senior management agreed to a 10 percent cut.

Summit, which operates Esquire, is under Gokongwei-led JG Summit alongside Cebu Pacific.

Logarta said the airline had cut around 270 flights this year to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and South Korea because of travel restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19.

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