Dow Jones freezes salaries

The publisher, which was acquired by News Corp last year, recently announced the cost-cutting decision in a staff memo.

"We enter 2009 in the face of a weakened global economy," head of Dow Jones, Les Hinton, wrote.

"The only prudent course forward is to continue managing all expenses aggressively until we can see more clearly where we are headed."

Hinton explained the freeze would apply right across the board, with only union-represented workers who work under collective bargaining agreements being exempt. Dow Jones has a total of 15 global bureaus in Asia, including in Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.

According to Joe Spitzer, Dow Jones' director of corporate communications in Asia, "the wage freeze applies to employees throughout the company in all regions and in every business unit and from entry level to executive".

"Dow Jones will honor statutory obligations and in countries where salaries are subject to government regulation, an increase will be provided as required," he said.

Dow Jones publishes the Wall St Journal Asia and runs the Dow Jones News Wire out of all 15 global bureaus in Asia.