EY India Chairman, Rajiv Memani, expressed his deep sadness over the death of Anna Sebastian, a 26-year-old employee who tragically passed away four months after joining the firm. Anna had started working in EY India’s audit and assurance team in March this year.
In a letter addressed to Rajiv Memani, Anna’s mother, Anita Augustine, criticized the company’s work culture, attributing her daughter’s death to an “overwhelming workload.” She described how Anna was constantly burdened with long hours, often working late into the night and even on weekends. Frequent additional tasks and calls from managers left her daughter utterly exhausted, often collapsing into bed without even changing her clothes.
Rajiv Memani denied the claims of overwork, stating in an interview that he did not believe work pressure was responsible for Anna’s death. He did not specifically address the allegations of excessive workload in his LinkedIn post, despite several current and former employees supporting the claims of a toxic work environment at EY.
In response to Memani’s LinkedIn post, a former EY employee shared his “terrible” experience, recounting how he was required to work 17 to 18 hours a day. When he reported the issue to HR, he was told it might be due to client demands, and no action was taken. The ex-employee explained that his concerns were often mocked during team meetings.
The former employee also shared his challenging experience while working onsite in Africa for six months. His manager frequently made the team work at least 10 hours daily, including weekends, with meetings scheduled even during Hindu festivals. The situation worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, with work calls starting as early as 8:30 AM and extending to midnight, ultimately leading him to resign without having another job offer lined up.
Following public outrage and the accusations of overwork, Union Minister of State for Labour, Shobha Karandlaje, confirmed that the labour ministry will investigate the death of Anna Sebastian, looking into the working conditions at EY. The investigation aims to determine whether the company’s work culture contributed to her tragic death.
