JioMart layoffs: Mukesh Ambani-helmed Reliance Industries’ online wholesale format JioMart has reportedly laid off over a thousand employees. This comes after the company aims to align its operations with Metro Cash and Carry that it acquired recently.
According to a report in The Economic Times that cited sources, this round of layoffs is part of a larger round that would reduce its 15,000-strong workforce in the wholesale division by two-thirds. A person in the know told the daily that the company asked 1,000 people on ground, including 500 executives at its corporate office to resign in the past few days.
The person said that JioMart also plans to lay off more with hundreds of employees already put on performance improvement plan (PIP). Rest of the sales employees have been put on a variable pay structure after the company lowered their fixed pay salary.
The person in the know told the daily that after the addition of Metro’s permanent workforce of 3,500 employees, there have been overlapping of roles. The company that started a price war in the grocery B2B space is also looking to improve margins and reduce losses.
Not only layoffs, JioMart is also planning to shut more than half of its 150 fulfillment centres that supply groceries and general merchandise to local neighbourhood stores.
Reliance Industries' JioMart lays off over 1,000 employees in its B2B unit: Reports #news #dailyhunt https://t.co/yFCtxgGUB1
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The Competition Commission of India approved Reliance Retail Ventures’ acquisition of Metro Cash and Carry. The deal was inked in December 2022 for a total cash consideration of Rs 2,850 crore. As part of this acquisition, Reliance Retail would be able to utilise Metro’s stores in cities like Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Guntur, Hyderabad, Hubballi, Indore, Lucknow, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nasik, Surat, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada.
JPMorgan had said in an analysis that Metro’s assets could further strengthen Reliance’s B2B offering. “Per RIL, the acquisition would give RIL access to a large base of registered Kiranas and other institutional customers, and strong supplier network among others. Over the years, RIL has focused on the large Kirana store ecosystem in India and the acquisition of METRO’s wholesale business is a positive,” JPMorgan analysts noted in a report.
