L&T Chief Subrahmanyan Earns 535 Times More Than the Median Pay of His Employees; Check Details

The debate on Indian work culture has sparked considerable attention since Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy suggested working '70 hours a week.' Some agreed with him, while many disagreed with the idea of such long hours.

Recently, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman and Managing Director, SN Subrahmanyan, faced backlash after expressing support for 90-hour workweeks for the company’s employees.

During a recent interaction with employees, Subrahmanyan addressed the company’s six-day workweek and expressed his belief in a more demanding schedule.  

“I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy, because I work on Sundays,” he said.

He went on to make a provocative remark, asking, “What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? Come on, get to the office and start working.”

The remarks, made in an undated video that surfaced on the Internet, led to a widespread backlash online. Many users deemed the comments inappropriate and raised concerns about the impact on work-life balance.

SN Subrahmanyan Salary

In FY24, Subrahmanyan earned a remuneration of Rs 51 crore, as much as 43.11 per cent higher than the previous year according to the company’s annual report. The CMD’s total remuneration comprises a base salary of Rs 3.6 crore, Rs 1.67 crore in perks, and Rs 35.28 crore as commission. Additionally, he received Rs 10.5 crore in retirement benefits. His salary is 534.57 times the median salary of the employees of L&T.

Who is SN Subrahmanyan?

Sekharipuram Narayanan Subrahmanyan is the Chairman of L&T. He was appointed to the top position in October 2023.

He was born in Chennai. He attended Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School. He completed his Bachelor in Technology (B.Tech) in Civil Engineering from Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra (National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra).

Subrahmanyan also holds an MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) in Pune. Later, he pursued an Executive Programme in Management from the London Business School.

Popularly known as SNS, he started his career at L&T in 1984 as a Project Planning Engineer in the company’s ECC Division.

In 2011, Subrahmanyan was appointed as a full-time Director on the Board of L&T. He was also designated as a Member of the Board and Senior Executive Vice President (construction).

He was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of L&T by the company’s board of directors in 2017.

He is married to Meena Subrahmanyan. The couple have two children.

On Friday, L&T stepped forward to defend its chairman saying that achieving extraordinary results requires extraordinary effort, particularly when India is striving for progress.

“Nation-building is at the core of our mandate. For over eight decades, we have been shaping India’s infrastructure, industries, and technological capabilities. We believe this is India’s decade, a time demanding collective dedication and effort to drive progress and realise our shared vision of becoming a developed nation,” said an L&T spokesperson, while clarifying the chairman’s comment.