Top bosses feel chill of credit crunch

LONDON (Reuters) - Over a third of leading businessmen expect their companies to suffer redundancies due to the economic downturn, according to a survey released on Monday.

Commissioned by the Leaders in London International Leadership Summit 2008, the poll of over 1,000 business leaders found 36 percent of them believe jobs will be lost, with 10 percent suggesting senior management could be made redundant.

The gloomy economic outlook has left 51 percent of bosses finding it tough to keep staff motivated, with a third reluctant to employ people who have high expectations of rewards or rapid promotion.

Over a half of those polled plan to keep their staff motivated by offering flexible working hours rather than increasing their salary, with nearly a quarter having tried to pep up morale by organising work social events.

Nearly half -- 47 percent -- of bosses have cut back on pay rises with 49 percent also cutting back on large bonuses, with a third of business leaders predicting the leisure and entertainment sectors were the most susceptible to job losses.

"Business leaders are increasingly finding that they're at the sharp end of the credit crunch and need to take stock of how they run their organisations in order to get the best from their employees," said managing director of Leaders in London Ros Oxley.

"In these tough financial times employers are facing a difficult challenge to keep their staff motivated, with many trying to find low cost incentives to encourage and reward productivity."

The poll was based on the responses of 1,236 top chief executive officers and senior business managers to an online questionnaire during July 2007.

(Reporting by John Joseph; Editing by Katherine Baldwin)