We’ve asked this question in the past and feel awful that profitable media companies aren’t doing enough to protect jobs. So we asked Dr Bhaskar Das the question again given that circumstances now are different. The threat to life has leapfrogged, as have the uncertainties. Without further ado, here’s the May 10 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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Q. We’ve asked you questions on the issue earlier. Don’t you think media organisations that have been profiting in the last many years shouldn’t be retrenching staff because of the Covid uncertainties?

A. Prima facie your question appears to be logical but business can’t be run on historical surplus. Usually surplus of one year gets reinvested in the same business for its sustained growth, expansion of business or diversification, capital expenditure etc. It is very difficult to give any value judgment on an issue like retrenchment from the outside as business imperatives and imponderables cannot always be managed by non-economic grounds. Besides, an unprecedented crisis like Covid has upended the business models of every sector. Hence to protect the larger interest of business, some sacrifices are inevitable, even if they are painful.