India’s largest conglomerate, Reliance Industries, revealed in its annual report that it laid off 42,000 employees in FY24, focusing on cost efficiency and reduced hiring. It’s in line with a whopping 63,750 layoffs in FY24 by India’s top IT companies including TCS, Wipro and Infosys.
The company hired around 171,000 people, down from the previous year's 263,000, with over 143,000 employees opting for voluntary separations.
Reliance Retail, the largest vertical, had about 207,000 employees at the end of the financial year, down from 246,000 the previous year. The company noted high employee turnover, especially in-store operations, in the retail industry.
The layoffs come as Reliance Retail, despite raising $1.85 billion in funding, saw its revenue plummet. The unit reported a modest 7% increase in revenue in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, falling significantly short of the 15%-20% increase analysts had expected.
Reliance Retail also opened only 82 new stores in the quarter, a sharp decline from the average of 740 stores per quarter in fiscal year 2023.
Social Media Reaction:
Online users are slamming the Indian conglomerate for the high number of job cuts.
One user wrote, "Fired 42,000 employees & destroyed their lives but splashed ₹5000 crores on son's wedding"
Another user commented, "Bht logo ko khte hue suna h billionaire businessmen jobs create krte h kha sde pde h wo log? Y hai asli scchai ...jesi profit bdne lge to job se nikal do sb profit apni jeb m Hme Ambani jese businessmen nhi Tata jese Industrialist ki zrurt h"
A third user replied, "42,000 employees for “cost-efficiency”? But paying Rs. 83 crore to Justin Bieber to perform n spending 5000 crores at a wedding was cost-efficient. Right? @reliancegroup"
A fourth user wrote, "5000 crores divided by 42000 gives approx. 11 lakhs. 11 lakhs is the average salary required for sustaining one family for one year. Such a huge loss for many."
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