JioStar Begins To Lay Off 1,100 Employees After Reliance-Disney Merger

JioStar, the joint venture of Reliance Industries Ltd's Viacom18 and The Walt Disney Company's India unit, is about to lay off over 1,100 employees.

India's largest media company has followed the steps of Facebook, Amazon, Flipkart, and Ola to consolidate operations and improve efficiency. Reportedly, this act is a part of the restructuring process to streamline operations after the merger.

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JioStar layoffs

The layoffs at the company will hit across distribution, finance, legal and commercial departments. As reported by Mint, the layoffs at JioStar started last month and will continue until June.

Junior staff to senior directors and assistant vice presidents are said to have been affected.

However, the channel’s sports division has remained untouched till now due to events like the Champions Trophy, Women's Premier League (WPL), and Indian Premier League (IPL).

Incidentally, JioStar is preparing to expand its sports portfolio by launching new channels.

The company valued at ₹70,352 crore (post-money basis) is providing a "generous severance" package to terminated employees, including 6 to 12 months of salary based on their tenure.

Parting employees are entitled to one month's full salary for every year completed at the company, on top of the notice period. Also, some employees from tech and digital services may be offered roles within Jio or the wider Reliance ecosystem.

Reliance Industries holds a majority stake in the joint venture via Viacom18 and direct ownership, while Disney owns 36.84%.

Nita Ambani is the chairperson of the new entity with Uday Shankar as the vice-chairman.

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