In the financial year that concluded in March 2024, Reliance, the largest conglomerate in India, made the decision to reduce its workforce by 11%, resulting in a significant reduction of over 42,000 employees.
The conglomerate also reduced its hiring efforts, with approximately 171,000 new employees brought on board in the financial year. This is a decrease from the previous year, where around 263,000 individuals were hired, as stated in its annual report. Over 143,000 employees chose to participate in the company’s voluntary separation program, according to the announcement.
Reliance has a diverse range of businesses and a significant number of employees, including India’s largest retail chain and the country’s top telecom network. Reliance Retail has the highest number of employees among the company’s verticals, with approximately 207,000 personnel at the end of the financial year. However, this figure is lower compared to its previous headcount of around 246,000 employees a year earlier. “The retail industry often experiences a significant turnover of employees, particularly in store operations,” the company stated. 
The layoffs are occurring as Reliance Retail, which achieved a valuation of $100 billion after raising $1.85 billion last year, is experiencing a deceleration in revenue growth. The unit’s revenue in the first quarter showed a modest 7% increase compared to the previous year, which fell significantly below the 15%–20% increase that analysts had anticipated. Reliance Retail experienced a significant decrease in the number of new store openings during the quarter, with only 82 stores added. This is a notable drop compared to the average of 740 stores per quarter in fiscal year 2023.
In the previous financial year, TCS, Wipro, and Infosys, the leading IT services companies in India, reduced their workforce by over 63,750 employees, aligning with the prevailing global patterns.
