Walmart India lays off 56 employees

Walmart India has let go 56 employees across levels in a corporate restructuring aimed at improving efficiency.

“We are also looking for ways to operate more efficiently, which requires us to review our corporate structure to ensure that we are organised in the right way,” said Krish Iyer, president and CEO, Walmart India in a statement.

In FY19, the company’s net loss nearly doubled to ₹171.6 crore.

Iyer said eight people were let go from the senior management and 48 from middle and lower management at its corporate office. They have been offered enhanced severance benefits and outplacement services to support their transition, Iyer said, adding that the reports of a second round of layoffs in April are “baseless and incorrect”.

Walmart India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc., said it has recently made significant investments in its brick-and-mortar stores and in e-commerce. “Our members are increasingly becoming omni-channel shoppers. We are thus investing heavily in technology and have a healthy pipeline of Best Price stores. This will provide our members with a true omni-channel and convenient shopping experience in the future,” according to Iyer.

Walmart entered India in 2007 and opened its first store in India in Amritsar, Punjab, in May 2009. At the time, it was in a partnership with Bharti Enterprises. In 2014, the partnership ended and Walmart India became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc. The company now runs 28 cash-and-carry stores in India, with the latest one opening in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, in December.

“Walmart remains committed to growing its B2B Cash & Carry business in India. We opened six new Best Price modern wholesale stores, one Fulfilment Center and our sales grew 22% in 2019,” Iyer added.