Amid a nationwide lockdown, one of India's most valued companies - Reliance Industries - headed by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani - also announced hefty pay cuts for its employees. Joining the workforce, Ambani has declared he will forego his salary for the time being.
The gesture, extended as support, put many Indians in a mean frame of mind. The 63-year-old business tycoon, who draws around $3 million as remuneration annually, is now being trolled online.
People have hilarious responses to what is being labelled as a “pseudo sacrifice".
Dear Mukesh Ambani,
— Modi Ji, Dolund Waley (@EKailaasa) April 30, 2020
Stop pretending like your salary is the only money you get to take home. #MukeshAmbani
Extremely sad news. Not sure how he can live but great sacrifice.
— 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝔂𝓪𝓼𝓱𝓶𝓲𝓽𝓪 𝓖𝓾𝓱𝓪 (@priyashmita) April 30, 2020
Mukesh Ambani won't take salary for the rest of the year. Just hope he has enough savings to see him through. Can't imagine the pressure
Will he be able to buy veggies for the family.
— DENNIS C KURIAN (@dennisckurian) April 30, 2020
When your worth is 63 billion US Dollars, about Rs 4 lakh 72000 crores, and you forgo your tiny salary to make an example out of it to cut your employees salary.#MukeshAmbani #salarycut pic.twitter.com/cDQooM7a5I
— Rahul Pandey (@Puranatiger) April 30, 2020
#MukeshAmbani cuts employees’ salary by 10-50% pic.twitter.com/YYUS1c5zzj
— Cream Roll (@creeamroll) April 30, 2020
On the “Fortune Global 500” list of world’s biggest corporations, Reliance Industries ranked 106th in 2019 with a Ambani's net worth alone around $53 billion. It dropped 28 percent or $300 million a day for two months to $48 billion as of 31 March, a media report said last month.
Salary cuts at Reliance Industries were introduced in the wake of heavy losses suffered by its hydrocarbon business due to the coronavirus.
A letter to the company’s employees noted that along with Ambani himself, the firm’s other board of directors and executive committee members will also be letting go of 30-50 percent of their respective salaries, the media reported.
#MukeshAmbani salary was capped at Rs.15 cr. for the last 11 yrs, while EDs - Nikhil Meswani & Hital Meswani - each took home Rs 20.57 cr in FY19.
— Gopal Kavalireddi (@gvkreddi) April 30, 2020
Based on shareholding pattern of the 48 Promoters of #Reliance, 👇 is the dividend income they will receive for FY20. Not bad! https://t.co/9U0a980a4L pic.twitter.com/vWl0Zd7isn
Workers associated with the hydrocarbon business of Reliance Industries, drawing higher than $20,000 approx. (INR 1.5 million) will be subjected to a 10 percent salary cut.
The pay deductions come despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressing industries not cut salaries under such critical circumstances.
According to the report “South Asia Economic Update: Impact of COVID-19”, the World Bank has predicted a five percent decline of the Indian economy this year.
