The pay cuts range from 5%-10% with executive and senior management taking the largest cut.

According to Roy Hill, the project tied to iron ore scion Gina Rinehart, there are to be no reductions for existing employees in lower remuneration bands, which it estimates to be about 50% of its workforce.

Roy Hill CEO Barry Fitzgerald said the company had responded to employee feedback to keep its “family-friendly rosters”, however, had asked employees to accept a reduction in base salaries to help reduce potential future job cuts.

“Retaining as many jobs as we can for our existing employees was one of the outcomes we were looking for from our review of rosters and remuneration,” Fitzgerald said.

“We felt it was important for our people to retain their job rather than pursue workforce reductions as a cost saving strategy in response to market conditions.”

Fitzgerald said the resources boom had pushed salaries to an unsustainable level.

“Reducing base salaries for existing and future employees is a prudent measure in today’s market, as it establishes a remuneration structure that supports us to remain a competitive, long-term business,” he said.

Construction of the Roy Hill project is more than 85% complete.

It is scheduled to deliver first ore on ship around the end of September.