Flipkart demotes Walmart India executives in merged entity

Mumbai: Nearly four months after acquiring Walmart India's wholesale operations, Flipkart in a town hall on Thursday announced its cash-and-carry business will largely be technology led, and relegated senior Walmart officials to lower ranks in the merged entity, two officials told ET.“Flipkart said all Walmart's vice presidents will be made directors, and all employees have been told that the role redesignation letter will come by December 3 and people have the option of accepting the offer within five days or take three months’ severance pay to quit,” one of them said.The town hall conducted on video conferencing was led by Flipkart Wholesale head Adarsh Menon. While Walmart India CEO Sameer Agarwal will have a global role, chief merchandising officer Anuj Singh and chief sales officer Sanjay Kesavan are not given any role in the merged entity yet, the officials said. According to Walmart's hierarchy standard, the new roles offered across the board would mean demotion by one or two levels, they said.Flipkart, however, said the job offers made to employees at Walmart India have been aligned to corresponding roles at Flipkart in terms of compensation, responsibility and profiles based on industry best practices, after consultation with external HR experts and in line with future organisational planning."Over the past few months, the Flipkart Wholesale and Walmart India teams have worked closely together for a smooth integration of the businesses,” Agarwal said. “The combined business will transform the B2B ecosystem in India. This will help several small businesses prosper and make great products available to millions of Indians all over the country.” In July, Flipkart had announced acquiring parent Walmart’s loss-ridden cash-and-carry business in India, Best Price, marking a consolidation of the American major’s entire retail portfolio in the country. The etailer had then said Walmart employees will transition to Flipkart Wholesale in January 2021 and as part of the integration, the operations will move from Gurgaon to Bengaluru in the next fiscal year.Flipkart – which was acquired by Walmart for $ 16 billion in 2018 – launched its wholesale unit in August with categories like fashion and grocery. This put it into direct competition against a slew of rivals from JioMart and Amazon B2B to business commerce enabler Udaan and German retail giant Metro Cash & Carry.In fiscal 2020, the company reported revenue growth of 20% of ₹4,926 crore on a 74% increase in loss at ₹299 crore.In January this year, Walmart had let go of nearly 100 senior executives, including vice presidents of sourcing, agri-business, and the fast-moving consumer goods divisions.

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