A few weeks after Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) CEO’s controversial remark about a 90-hour workweek made headlines, the company has suffered a significant setback, losing Rs 70,000 crore. This loss comes as the Ministry of Defence rejected L&T’s bid for a tender to build six submarines, citing non-compliance.
L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan recently faced criticism after a video surfaced where he encouraged employees to work even on Sundays. The comment sparked backlash, with many objecting to the promotion of extended work hours.
As reported by ANI, L&T, in partnership with Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company Navantia, had submitted a proposal to build and deliver six advanced submarines to the Indian Navy under Project 75 India. These submarines were designed to remain underwater for up to three weeks.
However, the tender for this project was rejected due to L&T’s non-compliance with the Indian Navy’s requirement for a sea-proven system, as stated in the tender specifications. This rejection has resulted in a Rs 70,000 crore loss for the multinational conglomerate.
L&T and Navantia had demonstrated their critical Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system to the Indian Navy in Spain, but this was a shore-based demonstration. The Indian Navy’s tender required a system that had already been proven at sea.
As per ANI, this latest development leaves the state-owned Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and its partner, Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, as the only remaining contender for the contract to build the six submarines.