Internal email sent by CEO of HT Media on restructuring salaries
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To:
From: ecommunications@hindustantimes.com
Date: 16 April, 3:32 PM
Subject: Stay Home, Stay Safe
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Dear Colleagues,
I hope you and your families are all well through this unprecedented period that we are experiencing. As the Hon. Prime Minister just announced on April 14, the country will now see an extended lockdown till May 3, to combat COVID-19 more effectively. I unequivocally support the Government’s stance and am hopeful that with these stringent actions, the nation will only benefit in the long term. I continue to thank the Almighty for having kept our HT Family safe through these difficult times and pray that it stays this way, while India recovers rapidly and completely.
The last time we spoke, I did inform you about the broader context of what all of this means for us as an organization. Just to refresh you we are losing 3.5 crores per day, as we continue to incur most of the costs , with no revenue. We have already initiated the actions that I had shared with you and am glad to let you know that indeed each of those actions is making a difference. Thank you for your support!
An extension of the lockdown and its consequent impact on the overall economy will undoubtedly have an even more adverse impact on our business. We should however believe that the impact is short & medium term in nature and due to the several changes that we are experiencing, our long term prospects stay unchanged. Our priority, through all of this upheaval, is to ensure that our employees and their families stay safe, continue to make our products available to our readers, listeners, viewers and customers, while we simultaneously also deliver to our shareholders’ expectations.
In this context, I would like to share three important developments with you:
- We are shortly launching a Corporate Insurance cover for your immediate families, details of which will be shared by HR within the next week. This is intended to ensure that the HT Family is looked after through these potentially unpredictable medical situations.
- At a Group level, we are pushing out the performance appraisal cycle for the prior year to a later date.
- We are also deferring salaries by transitioning components between fixed and variable in line with the following grid wef April 1, 2020:
· There will be no change in the salary structure for employees whose CTC < INR 6 lacs annually
· For employees with annual CTC between INR 6 to 10 lacs, 5% will be transitioned from currently fixed components to variable.
· For employees with annual CTC between INR 10 to 20 lacs, 10% will be transitioned from currently fixed components to variable.
· For employees with annual CTC above INR 20 lacs, 15% will be transitioned from currently fixed components to variable.
All variable components of salary will be linked to delivery of the annual EBITDA of the company as agreed with our Board, and will be paid out at the end of the current fiscal year. Your Business CEOs can provide further clarifications in case you require.
In the context of the current situation, these are some actions which me and my Leadership Team felt were important , to maintain the necessary balance, as we move ahead towards achieving our joint goals of employee safety, product availability , as well as business sustainability. I trust that I have your support as we make progress one step at a time , each day. Please do continue to share your feedback , on how will we do what we are doing in a different world, as we redefine the way we work, and reconstruct our business.
Stay safe and stay well. Together we can!
God Bless !
Praveen [Someshwar]
