London: Ratan Tata appeared to be in an uncharacteristically sombre and caustic mood when giving an interview to the Times, London on Saturday, May 22.
When his thoughts were sought on Mukesh Ambani's billion-dollar home 'Antillia' in Mumbai, Tata responded that he was surprised that Ambani would choose live within such a display of wealth when he was surrounded by poverty from all sides.
The Times quoted him as saying - "The person who lives in there should be concerned about what he sees around him and can he make a difference,"
Tata continued by expressing his disappointment that Mukesh Ambani would not see things in a more charitable light, saying "India needs people to allocate some of their enormous wealth to finding ways to mitigate the hardship that people have."
Tata explained that such feeling arose within him due to the widening gap between the rich and poor in India, although he complained that very little was being done to address the problem. He felt it was just being "wished away."
The Tata Group purchased the car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover and the steel maker Corus in the UK during 2008 and 2006 respectively. However rumours have circulated that the group would be cutting close to 1500 jobs in the UK by closing some of its steel operations and by laying-off employees from Jaguar Land Rover.
Why grudge Mukesh Ambani his home?
To add fervour to the brewing job-loss storm, Tata expressed his highly unfavourable opinion about the British work ethic.
He said that British managers did not have the same drive and spirit as Indian managers in a crisis, preferring a more laid-back approach and refusing to "go the extra mile".
Tata pointed out that in India, managers would continue working through the night if need be, but their British counter-parts were more keen to catch the 5 o'clock train back home.
Citing the Nano crisis, when he was forced to relocate a mostly-built car factory from West Bengal to Gujarat after facing strenuous opposition from Mamata Banerjee, Tata said - "In the dead of night, you had to start taking tools out of that factory, build another factory, deliver a car from an interim factory; and do all this in a year. The first thing you (the JLR management) will say is, 'It can't be done, that you will need a court order or police cover.' Yet we did it."
He was not against his workers though. Tata said that in JLR the workers were keen to overcome hurdles but always found the management unwilling.
Tata ended on a more optimistic tone, noting that things were beginning to change in his factories and saying that he has great confidence in the UK. Tata felt that the UK could definitely regain its former economic glory if people would make the "effort".
Chairman of Tata Group Ratan Tata
During the course of the interview, the head of the Tata Group delivered stinging remarks against billionaire Mukesh Ambani and the British work ethic.
When his thoughts were sought on Mukesh Ambani's billion-dollar home 'Antillia' in Mumbai, Tata responded that he was surprised that Ambani would choose live within such a display of wealth when he was surrounded by poverty from all sides.
The Times quoted him as saying - "The person who lives in there should be concerned about what he sees around him and can he make a difference,"
Tata continued by expressing his disappointment that Mukesh Ambani would not see things in a more charitable light, saying "India needs people to allocate some of their enormous wealth to finding ways to mitigate the hardship that people have."
Tata explained that such feeling arose within him due to the widening gap between the rich and poor in India, although he complained that very little was being done to address the problem. He felt it was just being "wished away."
The Tata Group purchased the car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover and the steel maker Corus in the UK during 2008 and 2006 respectively. However rumours have circulated that the group would be cutting close to 1500 jobs in the UK by closing some of its steel operations and by laying-off employees from Jaguar Land Rover.
Why grudge Mukesh Ambani his home?
To add fervour to the brewing job-loss storm, Tata expressed his highly unfavourable opinion about the British work ethic.
He said that British managers did not have the same drive and spirit as Indian managers in a crisis, preferring a more laid-back approach and refusing to "go the extra mile".
Tata pointed out that in India, managers would continue working through the night if need be, but their British counter-parts were more keen to catch the 5 o'clock train back home.
Citing the Nano crisis, when he was forced to relocate a mostly-built car factory from West Bengal to Gujarat after facing strenuous opposition from Mamata Banerjee, Tata said - "In the dead of night, you had to start taking tools out of that factory, build another factory, deliver a car from an interim factory; and do all this in a year. The first thing you (the JLR management) will say is, 'It can't be done, that you will need a court order or police cover.' Yet we did it."
He was not against his workers though. Tata said that in JLR the workers were keen to overcome hurdles but always found the management unwilling.
Tata ended on a more optimistic tone, noting that things were beginning to change in his factories and saying that he has great confidence in the UK. Tata felt that the UK could definitely regain its former economic glory if people would make the "effort".
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