Milkbasket, the popular grocery delivery service, has officially merged with Reliance Retail’s e-commerce platform, JioMart. The move is a strategic move to strengthen Reliance’s presence in the online grocery market. However, recent reports have raised concerns about Milkbasket potentially laying off a significant portion of its workforce.
According to media reports, approximately 25-30% of Milkbasket’s employees, or 600 people, may be laid off as part of the integration process. The situation has sparked controversy and contradictory statements from the company and insiders.
While a Milkbasket spokesperson denies any layoffs, claiming that the integration may result in role realignment and reassignment within the organisation, an anonymous ex-employee has a different take. According to this source, the HR department called the pan-India marketing and growth teams and asked them to resign on a specific date. The category team has also been placed on a performance-improvement plan (PIP).
The merger comes after Milkbasket was acquired by Reliance Retail, which led to the company’s expansion from three cities to approximately 30 cities. However, the company later reduced its presence in newly entered cities in favour of concentrating on existing markets.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the layoffs, some of Milkbasket’s remaining employees are expected to be offered positions within JioMart’s SmartPoint and Smart Bazaar teams. This suggests that the merger may provide opportunities for some employees while challenging others.
