The Silicon Review ^Asia

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited has laid off around 4,500 contract workers and over 500 permanent employees. However, the exact number couldn’t be verified.

The decision of laying off employees appears as a cost-cutting strategy and attempt to improve operating margins to those who are familiar with the matter. However, the company has commented that this isn’t an action led by the cost pressure and Jio still continues to be a net recruiter.  While the downsizing has mainly impacted the consumer-facing side, other areas that have fallen prey to workforce reduction are finance, HR, administration and networks, supply chain, etc. The manpower rationalization is expected to continue for a while.

According to the sources, Jio has around 20,000 employees on its payrolls. However, a large proportion of this is third-party employees.

The company has denied commenting on the matter in detail.             

“When Jio was launched, it needed more hands on the ground. But with one network and no segmented offers, the focus is on the enterprise segment and content. Its operating marginshave remained stable in the last two years. However, they were anticipated to increase itabundantly, which is a matter of concern,” said a Senior Telecom Analyst. 

The company, founded in 2007, has been a game changer in the Indian telecom marketsince its entry as a public company in September 2016, with its discounted rates that have earned Jio an enormous number of customers (307 million subscribers by March-end).