JioMart is looking to downsize by a further 9,000 employees.
JioMart, an online shopping platform owned by Indian multinational conglomerate Reliance, has reportedly given pink slips to over 1,000 employees and an even bigger job cut is around likely. According to a report by the Economic Times, JioMart plans to trim two-thirds of its 15,000 wholesale division workforce in the coming weeks, a move which will impact around 10,000 employees. Meaning, JioMart is looking to downsize by a further 9,000 employees.
The 1,000 affected employees, out of which 500 are executives at its corporate office, have been asked to resign over the last few days. These layoffs are part of a larger cost-cutting measure wherein hundreds of employees are already put on performance improvement plans.
The move comes as the Indian retail major seeks to improve its margins and align its operations with the recently acquired METRO Cash and Carry. The media report noted that there will be an overlap of roles both at the backend and online sales operations with the addition of Metro’s permanent staff of 3,500 people.
In December last year, JioMart’s parent company Reliance Retail Ventures acquired a 100% stake in METRO Cash and Carry India Pvt Ltd for Rs 2,850 crore. Commonly known as METRO India, METRO Cash and Carry India is a subsidiary of the German wholesale company METRO AG. It operated as a B2B (business-to-business) wholesale retailer in India, catering primarily to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
The acquisition would give RRVL, a subsidiary of billionaire Mukesh Amabani’s Reliance Industries, access to a wide network of METRO India stores located in prime locations across key cities, along with a large base of registered kiranas and other institutional customers, a strong supplier network and some of the global best practices implemented by METRO in the country.
