'Deeply Saddened': EY India After 26-Year-Old Employee's Death Due to 'Work Stress'

New Delhi: Ernst & Young (EY) issued a statement on Wednesday following the social media backlash the company faced after the tragic death of 26-year-old CA Anna Sebastian, reportedly due to excessive workload.

"We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian's tragic and untimely passing in July 2024," EY acknowledged in its statement.

"While no measure can compensate for the family's loss, we have provided all the assistance we can in this time of distress and will continue to do so," the statement read.

"Anna was a part of the Audit team at S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune for four months, having joined on 18 March 2024. That her promising career was cut short in this tragic manner is an irreparable loss for all of us," EY added.

Hinting at possible reforms, the company stated: "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."

Anna Sebastian Perayil tragically lost her life, with her family citing overwhelming work pressure as the cause. Perayil, who had recently started her career at EY Pune—one of the Big Four accounting firms—had been battling intense stress and exhaustion just four months into her role. Her family believes that the crushing workload took a devastating toll on her mental and physical health, ultimately leading to her untimely death.

Like many fresh graduates, she was eager to prove herself in her first job, working tirelessly to meet the demands of the role. However, her mother, Anita Augustine, has now shared a heart-wrenching account of the grueling work conditions her daughter endured. In a letter addressed to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani, Augustine condemned the company for "glorifying overwork" and fostering a toxic environment that left her daughter overwhelmed and exhausted.

Augustine’s letter has sparked social media outrage and a heated discussion on the broader toxic work culture the corporate world follows.