I work for a small business where I was promoted to general manager about 6 months ago. Prior to the promotion I made $8 an hour. In an evaluation today, the owner told me they could no longer afford to pay me my salaried rate of $16 an hour (40 hours a week, no overtime). They've also taken away a couple of my responsibilities (as a way of demoting me without actually removing me from the position).
I am now being asked to negotiate my pay cut because they can “no longer afford it”. They wanted to know what I think was “fair” rate, but I stalled and was able to ask to get back to them. They want an answer tomorrow and I have absolutely no idea what to say. How should I go about doing this?
I'm not in a position where I can afford to leave, and I finally made it to a point in my life where I'm financially comfortable. I dont want to take a pay cut, but I also cant quit. Job searching in my area has been near impossible for anything over $9- even with a bachelors degree. My boss is pure bullshit, but I put up with it for the pay alone.
Basically, my boss wants me to decide my pay cut, but how do I do that without shorting myself. Any advice possible would be appreciated.