Mumbai (India), 23rd May 2023: Following the acquisition of Metro Cash & Carry, Reliance’s online wholesale unit JioMart reportedly let off around 1,000 people.
According to three officials cited by ET, this is part of a bigger cost-cutting effort that would include decreasing the 15,000-strong workforce in the wholesale sector by two-thirds.
JioMart’s layoffs came three months after the company shut down JioMart Express, its quick commerce delivery arm that was launched in March 2022.
According to one of the people mentioned by the publication, JioMart has recently requested more than 1,000 staff on the ground, including 500 executives at its corporate office, to quit.
The corporation also intends to conduct another significant round of layoffs, with hundreds of staff placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP).
Along with the layoffs JioMart plans to close more than half of its 150 fulfilment centres, which supply groceries and miscellaneous products to local neighbourhood stores.
The acquisition of Metro Cash and Carry by Reliance Retail Ventures has been approved by India’s Competition Commission. The agreement was signed in December 2022 for Rs 2,850 crore in cash.
Reliance Retail will hence be able to access Metro’s stores in cities such as Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Guntur, Hyderabad, Hubballi, Indore, Lucknow, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nasik, Surat, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada as part of this transaction.
