Reliance Industries' JioMart cuts over 1,000 jobs in its B2B unit
JioMart, Mukesh Ambani's online wholesale format for Reliance Industries, has reportedly laid off over a thousand employees. As a result of its recent acquisition of Metro Cash and Carry, the company is aligning its operations.
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JioMart, Mukesh Ambani's online wholesale format for Reliance Industries, has reportedly laid off over a thousand employees. As a result of its recent acquisition of Metro Cash and Carry, the company is aligning its operations.
According to sources this round of layoffs is part of a larger round aimed at reducing its 15,000-strong wholesale workforce by two-thirds. Recently, the company asked 1,000 employees on ground to resign, including 500 executives at its corporate office, according to a person in the know.
An insider report states JioMart is also planning to lay off more employees. PIPs have already been put in place for hundreds of employees. The company has lowered the fixed pay salaries of the rest of the sales employees.
A source told the daily that after Metro's 3,500 permanent employees were added, roles overlapped. In addition to trying to improve margins and reduce losses, the grocery B2B company is also trying to improve profits.
JioMart is also planning to close more than half its 150 fulfillment centers, which provide groceries and general merchandise to local neighbourhood stores.
Reliance Retail Ventures has been approved to acquire Metro Cash and Carry by the Competition Commission of India. The deal was signed in December 2022 for a total cash consideration of Rs 2,850 crore. With this acquisition, Reliance Retail will have access to Metro's stores in cities such as Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Guntur, Hyderabad, Hubballi, Indore, Lucknow, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nasik, Surat, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada.
According to an analysis by JPMorgan, Metro's assets can further enhance 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. In a JPMorgan report, analysts noted that RIL has focused on the large Kirana store ecosystem in India and the METRO wholesale acquisition is positive.
