Satyakam Arya believes Covid-19 poses one of the worst crises for humanity in recent times. “We will see how it plays out in the coming days but even in the best case, it will leave a deep impact on all economies,” says the MD & CEO of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV). After all, half of the world is shut down and after how long normalcy will resume depends on the “depth and longevity” of this crisis.

So far, DICV has not resorted to any layoffs, including contract employees, even while some people in the top management have volunteered to take short-term salary cuts. “We are in touch with our workforce and keep a tab on their health,” says Arya. Two full-time company doctors are always on call as also a crisis management team.

From the DICV chief’s point of view, this crisis also brings to the fore emotive aspects of caring for society, the environment and safety, which goes beyond mere business gains/wealth creation for shareholders. “This is my personal belief and what we have done to the planet is only too well known,” he says.

In Arya’s view, man has always acted on the planet as its most prominent species and, in fact, believes he is its sole proprietor. “Now an organism which we cannot see has brought humankind and economies to their knees. The best lesson to learn from this is to be humble and not forget it even when the crisis blows over,” he says.

Right now, DICV’s priorities are its employees, their families and stakeholders. It is working on the guidelines laid down by WHO when operations restart to ensure that nobody is exposed to the risk of infection. “For example, we could separate ourselves into two teams which do not meet each other physically. They can alternate working days and maintain social distancing,” says Arya. Volumes will be ramped up depending on the state of the market.

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