Do you think C-suite and executives should take a pay cut to avoid layoffs in the company

I've been a part of organizations that did implement executive pay cuts and organizations that didn't. There are too many factors involved to make a blanket comment (as Robert and others have said). 

In a smaller company, it may make a difference to share the financial burden and provide more recovery runway. In other companies, it may not make much of a financial difference, although it almost always affects morale.  

The more important questions are: 

• How did the company get into that position in the first place? 
• What are the best ways out of that position? 
• Who is best suited to lead those necessary changes?

When companies get into financial trouble exceptional leadership is required. What's that worth? TBD.

I agree with Robert, this cannot be answered with a simple yes or no as understanding the “why” is critical to the question. 

Conversation on this topic can be volatile, with strong opinions on both sides.

The first thing I'd like to remind anyone who is contemplating this question is, as business processes get more efficient, less man-power is needed. If executives are making decisions for the financial good of the company, its shareholders or ownership, then I do not personally see a problem with this. Executives have to make tough decisions sometimes, to make businesses profitable.

The second thing I'd like to say is people are a business' most valuable, most expensive and most risky asset. Wages, benefits, on the job injuries and etc. are expensive.

Finally, I get frustrated when I hear about major businesses that are poorly run, laying off people to save the business, only to hear later the executives took big bonuses.

So, do I think executives should take pay cuts to avoid layoffs? No! However, if the layoffs are simply due to poor business management, I do not think it is ethical for those executives to take bonuses after laying off a bunch of people.