EY Woman Employee Death: Harsh Goenka `Baffled` As Ashneer Grover Praises Toxic Workplace; Says Left Rs 1 Crore Job At EY

Ashneer Grover in an old video clip can be heard saying that a place where people screams of toxic work culture is the best place, because real work is only being done there.

New Delhi: Amidst the death of a 26 year old CA in EY Pune office, an old video of BharatPe co-founder and former managing director Ashneer Grover has caught the attention of RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka.

The industrialist has called out Grover for his apparent praising of toxic workplace in an old video, where the latter compares the office situation of EY as dull and dead.

In the video, Grover can be heard saying he exited EY on his very first day despite getting a Rs 1 crore package. He said walked into the office, looked around and pretended to have chest pain to get out. 

Grover says he felt EY office was lifeless and dull to the extent that he compared the people there as dead bodies, corpses lying everywhere. He also defended his point by saying that a place where people screams of toxic work culture is the best place, because real work is only done there.

"Itne mare huwe log, kriya karam karna reh gaya tha, sab laashein padi thi. Jaha pe ladai ho rahi ho, best office hai. Jaha pe koi bol raha ho bada toxic culture hai, bahot sahi office hai wo. Kaam toh wahi pe ho raha hai," Grover says in the video.

Anna Sebastian Perayil, who passed her CA exams in 2023, worked at EY Pune office for four months before she succumbed. Her mother this month wrote to EY India chairman Rajiv Memani flagging the 'glorification' of overwork at the multinational consulting firm.

In a letter, addressed to EY, her mother wrote, "...Burdening newcomers with such backbreaking work, making tehm work day and night even on Sundays, has no justification whatsoever."

She highlighted that it is a 'systemic issue that goes beyond individual managers or teams'. "The relentless demands and the pressure to meet unrealistic expectations are not sustainable, and they cost us the life of a young woman with so much potential"

Her mother further described the work culture at EY that glorifies overwork, reminding the company that her daughter's death should serve as a wake-up call for EY.

Meanwhile, EY has officially responded to the allegations of toxic work culture at the company. EY said, "We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian's tragic and untimely passing in July 2024, and our deepest condolences go to the bereaved family. Anna was a part of the Audit team at S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune for a brief period of four months, joining the firm on 18 March 2024. That her promising career was cut short in this tragic manner is an irreparable loss for all of us."

The company added, "While no measure can compensate for the loss experienced by the family, we have provided all the assistance as we always do in such times of distress and will continue to do so. We are taking the family’s correspondence with the utmost seriousness and humility. We place the highest importance on the well-being of all employees and will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace for our 100,000 people across EY member firms in India."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour & Employment has said it is investigating the alleged "unsafe and exploitative work environment".