Mumbai: In a piece of good news for the employees at Living Media India Ltd (LMIL), founder and chairman Aroon Purie has announced the organisation’s decision to reverse the salary cuts imposed last year amid the pandemic.

Apart from the over and above the Ex-Gratia Award given recently, the salary reductions for all the staff will be reversed, effective 1 September 2021, informed Purie in a letter written to the entire staff.

Purie said the reduction of salaries in June 2020, was the “most painful decision” that he had to make in the 46 years he has worked in India Today, which is published by LMIL. “As you know, even before the pandemic, the magazine industry was under severe stress. With the economy contracting, advertising, our primary source of revenue, virtually collapsed, plus distribution was impacted due to corona lockdowns. The only way to survive was to reduce costs,” he wrote.

Purie also thanked his employees for working through the crisis undeterred, and ensuring that the magazine did not miss a single issue, and maintain the quality at the same time.

“You have shown courage, resourcefulness, forbearance and ingenuity. While we are nowhere near pre-COVID levels, or expect to be there in the foreseeable future, we must move on and adjust to a new reality. I have faith in our strong brands, content, our team's belief in the magazine and our will to succeed,” he wrote.

Purie highlighted that despite the churn in the media landscape, magazine stories have a profound and lasting impact. “Advertisers see that too. I hope more will. The good times will return. They have to. We will all then progress and prosper with our magazines,” he added.