From Satya Nadella to Elon Musk, here’s what tech CEOs are saying about COVID-19 outbreak

Coronavirus outbreak has brought the world to a standstill. Flights have been cancelled, production has been halted, countries have been put on lockdown and all but essential services have been shut down. Amid the present scenario , executives and leaders of tech companies have pooled in resources to help their employees, partners and other people during the ongoing pandemic.

While some have donated finds and masks and other medical equipment to combat the outbreak, others have given special privileges to their partners to help them get through the pandemic. Despite the scope of the virus outbreak, all remain optimistic that the world will get through this outbreak soon.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in an interview with CNBC said that the company will come out strong once the coronavirus pandemic is over. "We have a great balance sheet, we are a very diverse business, we have a mix of annuity, non-annuity, that is also stronger than even the last time we even went into the financial crisis. I feel confident we'll come out of this, frankly, pretty strong," he said in a statement.

In a letter to his employees earlier this month, Nadella had said that the world was in an 'unchartered territory' where much was unknown. "We are in uncharted territory. Much is unknown, and I know how unsettling and uncertain this feels...I see the struggle in our local community, and around the world, the empty streets and restaurants, and I wonder when our social fabric will be restored," he had said in a Linkedin post.

Similar to Nadella, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has also predicted that things are likely to get worse before they get better. In a letter to Amazon employees, he highlighted the measures that the company was taking to help its warehouse workers and contractual staff.

"We've placed purchase orders for millions of face masks we want to give to our employees and contractors who cannot work from home, but very few of those orders have been filled. Masks remain in short supply globally and are at this point being directed by governments to the highest needed facilities like hospitals and clinics," Jeff Bezos wrote in his letter.

In India, Mahindra Group CEO Anand Mahindra, who also owns Mahindra Tech, estimated that COVID-19 cases are expected to rise exponentially in India. In a series of tweets, he said that a lockdown over the next few weeks is likely to "help flatten the curve & moderate the peak pressure on medical care."

In addition to that, he also highlighted the steps being taken by the company to aid the present scenario, which includes turning Mahindra's resorts into temporary care facilities and manufacturing ventilators. He also said that he would be donating his salary for the relief operations.

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook, on the other hand, said that Apple was help source supplies for healthcare providers fighting COVID-19 outbreak. He also said that Apple was donating millions of masks for health professionals in the US and Europe. "He also said that Apple was donating millions of masks for health professionals in the US and Europe," he added.

Cook joins the league of Alibaba founder Jack Ma and Tesla CEO Elon Musk who are donating masks and other healthcare resources to combat the virus outbreak. While Jack Ma said that he would be donating 1.8 million masks, 210,000 test kits, 36,000 protective suits, ventilator and thermometers for 10 Asian nations including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Musk has said that his company would manufacture ventilators if there was a shortage. Besides this, he has pledged to donate 250,000 N95 masks to hospitals in the US.

Like Musk, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg too has donated 720,000 masks to healthcare workers who are on the frontline of the outbreak. "We're also working on sourcing millions of more to donate. I hope you're all staying healthy and safe," Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Facebook.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal, on the other hand, highlighted a series of efforts that the employees and the company were taking to help the delivery partners and dine out restaurant partners. He said that Zomato employees were taking deep salary cuts to help the company maintain a steady cash flow. He also said that the company said it will facilitate working capital loans for its Gold partners (dining out) and restaurant.

"All paid Zomato Gold memberships across India, the UAE, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Lebanon, Turkey, New Zealand, Portugal and Qatar will get a two month membership extension at zero cost," he wrote in a tweet.