Following the departure of its top three executives, Milkbasket, a subscription commerce firm, is reportedly planning to downsize its workforce drastically. Approximately two-thirds of its current total headcount, which is roughly 600 employees, are expected to be laid off. This layoff will include the entire offline marketing, sales, and head office teams, as per information from three sources familiar with the matter, as reported by Entrackr.
Milkbasket Faces Employee Resignations Amid Restructuring, As Reliance’s ‘Jio Smart Daily’ Emerges
In addition to the layoffs, Milkbasket has apparently asked many of its employees to resign and explore opportunities outside the company within the next few weeks. While Reliance Retail, which acquired a significant stake in Milkbasket in October 2021, is looking to accommodate some of Milkbasket’s teams across its group companies, a substantial number of staff members are likely to be impacted by this restructuring.
It is speculated that this move by Milkbasket may be followed by the launch of a new platform called ‘Jio Smart Daily’ by Reliance. This could potentially result in the gradual phasing out of the Milkbasket brand entirely.
The remaining team members at Milkbasket are expected to become part of Jio Smart, with the operations team possibly merging with Reliance Stores and Bazaar.
Milkbasket Undergoes Management Changes and Acquisition by Reliance, Denies Layoffs
Over the past few months, Milkbasket has experienced significant changes in its top and mid-level management, with co-founder Yatish Talvadia, Chief Operating Officer Abhinav Imandi, and Chief Financial Officer Gaurav Srivastava leaving the company after its integration with JioMart.
Reliance’s acquisition of a 96.49% stake in Milkbasket was disclosed in October 2021, and the deal was estimated to be worth around $40-45 million, according to Entrackr’s sources. Before the acquisition, Milkbasket had raised approximately $33 million from investors like Mayfield, Unilever, Beenext, and Blume Ventures, among others.
Update on July 28, 9:40 PM: After the initial report was published, a Reliance spokesperson reached out to Entrackr and denied the rebranding and layoffs at Milkbasket. The spokesperson stated that Milkbasket as a brand continues to grow and serve its customers. They also clarified that as part of the integration with JioMart, there might be some realignment or reallocation of roles across functions within the group, but there are no plans to lay off any employees.
