Walmart-backed e-commerce major Flipkart is letting go of around 250-300 employees across business functions as part of its annual performance review, according to people close to the matter. These exits account for around 1.5% of its roughly 20,000-strong workforce.
“Flipkart conducts regular performance reviews aligned with clearly defined expectations. As part of this process, a small percentage of employees may transition from the organisation,” a company spokesperson said, without confirming the number of employees affected. Besides an annual performance review, it conducts a mid-year check-in. It had carried out similar performance-based job cuts in the past as well. Its last major round of layoffs was in January 2024, when it fired around 1,000 employees, or 5% of its workforce.
Flipkart moves closer to India IPO
Flipkart is reportedly preparing for a long-awaited public listing, but no specific details are known yet. In December last, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved Flipkart’s long-pending proposal to shift its domicile from Singapore to India, clearing a critical regulatory hurdle for a domestic IPO.
In the run-up to a potential IPO, Flipkart has been focusing on reigning in losses and maintaining healthy top-line growth, even as India’s broader e-commerce growth slows. In FY25, Flipkart Internet, which operates the core marketplace business, reported a 14% year-on-year rise in revenue to Rs 20,493 crore while cutting losses by 37% to Rs 1,494 crore. In FY24, the company had managed to post a 26% rise in revenue.
The NCLT approval allows the company to proceed with the consolidation of eight overseas entities into the Bengaluru-headquartered firm, effectively unwinding its complex foreign holding structure. As part of the process, Flipkart is now seeking clearance from the government under Press Note 3 norms, sources said, since Chinese technology major Tencent continues to hold around a 5% stake in the company.
Flipkart tweaks fees amid rising competition
Among the multiple entities through which Flipkart operates in India, revenue in Flipkart’s marketplace arm primarily includes seller commissions, advertising, and other seller fees. As competition with e-commerce rivals such as Amazon India and Meesho intensifies, Flipkart, in November, rolled out a zero commission model for all products priced below Rs 1,000. Commission fee is a percentage-based charge applied to the final selling price of a product and varies depending on the category. Earlier this month, Amazon also announced a similar move.
The company is also heavily investing in its latest quick commerce venture, Flipkart Minutes. In an interview with FE in December, a senior executive noted that the company plans to grow its number of dark stores- micro-fulfillment centres- to about 1,000 by March–April. The network already spans roughly 3,000 pincodes across 32 cities, with ambitions to reach 75–80 cities as expansion accelerates.