Larsen & Toubro

Henning Holck-Larsen and Søren Kristian Toubro were in India to represent the interests of the Danish dairy equipment manufacturer FLSmidth when they founded L&T through an oral agreement in 1938. The company was legally incorporated in 1946.

The start of World War II in 1939 and the resulting blockade of trade, led Larsen and Toubro to undertake jobs and provide service facilities. The German invasion of Denmark in April 1940 stopped supplies of Danish products. The war-time need to repair, refit, and degauss ships offered L&T an opportunity, and led to the formation of a new company, Hilda Ltd, to handle these operations. L&T also started to repair and fabricate ships. The internment of German engineers in India who were to construct a soda ash plant for the Tata Group gave L&T a chance to enter the field of installation.

In 1946, they incorporated Engineering Construction & Contracts Ltd. (ECC) to focus on construction projects. ECC now exists as the construction division of L&T. By 1947, the company represented the manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture products such as hydrogenated oils, biscuits, soaps and glass. In 1947, the company signed an agreement with Caterpillar Tractor Company to market earth moving equipment. At the end of the war, large numbers of war-surplus Caterpillar equipment were available at attractive prices, but the finances required were beyond the capacity of the partners. This prompted them to raise additional equity capital, and on 7 February 1946, Larsen & Toubro Private Limited was incorporated.

In 1947, the firm set up offices in Calcutta and Madras and New Delhi. In 1948, 22 hectares (55 acres) of undeveloped marsh and jungle was acquired in Powai, Mumbai. In December 1950, L&T became a public company with a paid-up capital of ₹20 lakh (equivalent to ₹24 crore or US$2.5 million in 2026). The sales turnover in that year was ₹1.09 crore (equivalent to ₹131 crore or US$14 million in 2026). In 1956, a major part of the company's Bombay office moved to ICI House in Ballard Estate, which would later be purchased by the company and renamed as L&T House, its present headquarters.

During the 1960s, ventures included the Utkal Machinery Limited (UTMAL, set up in 1960), Audco India Limited (1961), Eutectic Welding Alloys (1962) and Tractor Engineers Limited (TENGL, 1963).

In 1965, the firm was chosen as a partner for building nuclear reactors. Dr. Homi Bhabha, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission had approached L&T in the 1950s to fabricate critical components for nuclear reactors.

During the 1970s, L&T was contracted to work with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Chairman Vikram Sarabhai chose L&T as manufacturing partner.

In 1976, ECC bid for an airport project in Abu Dhabi. ECC's balance sheet, however, did not meet the bid's financial qualification requirement so it was merged into L&T. ECC was eventually renamed L&T Construction and now accounts for the largest portion of the group's annual revenue.

Major subsidiaries

Construction

L&T Construction & development

L&T Realty

EPC Projects

L&T Valves

L&T Energy Hydrocarbon

Controversy

In January 2025, an undated video of Subrahmanyan's New Year address sparked widespread controversy online. In the video, an employee is heard asking why Larsen & Toubro, one of India's largest conglomerates, requires employees to work on Saturdays. In response, Subrahmanyan expressed remorse not being able to make employees work on Sundays, stating it would make him happier since he himself works on Sundays. He further questioned that what do employees do "sitting at home" and how long could spouses stare at each other, suggesting that employees should "Get to the office and start working" on Sundays instead. Shortly after the video went viral, Meena Subrahmanyan, his wife, became the target of widespread trolling on social media due to her husband's remarks.

Subrahmanyan justified this stance by citing a conversation with a Chinese individual who claimed that China's longer work hours could enable them to surpass the United States. He subsequently endorsed a 90-hour workweek for employees, adding that such effort was necessary for achieving success. However, his statements were contradicted by a 2021 United Nations report, which highlighted the detrimental effects of excessive work hours on mental and physical health.

The remarks reignited concerns about toxic work environments in India, especially following the 2024 suicide of an Indian Chartered Accountant and death due to heart attack of another one attributed to work pressure. This controversy also brought attention to Subrahmanyan's substantial remuneration in 2024, which amounted to ₹510,000,000 (approximately $6,000,000 in 2025), compared to L&T's median employee salary of ₹955,000 (approximately $11,000 in 2025).

Prominent figures such as Harsh Goenka, Deepika Padukone, Anand Mahindra, Anupam Mittal and Cyrus Poonawalla expressed their disapproval of Subrahmanyan's remarks on social media. A spokesperson for Larsen & Toubro defended his statements, describing them as a call for collective dedication and effort to drive progress and achieve the shared vision of India, emphasizing that extraordinary outcomes demand extraordinary effort.