Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone, last seen in Singham Again, reacted strongly to Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T’s) clarification after its chairman SN Subrahmanyan’s take that employees should work 90-hour work weeks during an interaction with employees.

Sharing the screenshot of L&T’s statement, Padukone wrote on her Instagram Stories: “And they just made it worse.”

L&T’s clarification after Subrahmanyan’s comment went viral

Larsen & Toubro defended Subrahmanyam’s remarks, saying that extraordinary effort is needed to achieve extraordinary outcomes.

At L&T, 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 realize our shared vision of becoming a developed nation. The Chairman’s remarks reflect this larger ambition, emphasizing that extraordinary outcomes require extraordinary effort. At L&T, we remain committed to fostering a culture where passion, purpose, and performance drive us forward.”

Previously, Padukone criticised Subrahmanyan for his comment about wanting to make L&T’s employees work on Sundays. She wrote: “Shocking to see people in such senior positions make such statements.”

Subrahmanyan previously said that he would have been much happier had his employees worked on Sundays. He also questioned them on what do they do at home.

“What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can the wives stare at their husbands? Come on, get to the office and start working.”

Furthermore, he justified his take by sharing an interaction he had with a Chinese national. As per this person, China could potentially beat the US since Chinese people work 90 hours a week compared to Americans who work only 50 hours a week.

“So that’s the answer for you. If you have got to be on top of the world.. You have to work 90 hours a week. Get going, guys. Come on.”

The clip of the interaction went viral on Reddit, with irate users comparing Subrahmanyan to Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy. Users also mentioned that the L&T chairman would have never said such stuff to employees working in markets other than India.