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Reliance Retail to give pink slips to 900 staff
By siliconindia
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Wednesday, 03 December 2008, 20:30 IST |
2 Comments
New Delhi: Indicating a further set back in retail sector, Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of India's largest private company Reliance Industries, is planning to show door to around 900 workers in its land acquisition and statutory clearance teams across the country, reported The Financial Express.
Sources mentioned that around half the employees slated to lose their jobs are on the company rolls while the balance are with outsourced agencies providing support services. The move is clearly indicating that the company does not plan any major land acquisition in near future.
The company has deployed staffs in many states to identify and acquire land for retail stores. Obtaining municipal and state clearances for individual retail stores commencing operations is the responsibility of the statutory clearance team.
However the company point out that the report on laying off 350 employees from the land team is factually incorrect, where as they did not respond on the status of the outsourced employees and the statutory clearance team. Most of the retail firms have begun downsizing to cut costs and pruning employee strengths across several verticals.
As part of new strategies, Reliance is discussing on the possibilities of merging various verticals into more compact units.According to the company, instead of addressing all lines of business, it would be better to develop one vertical at a time.
The slowdown and issues regarding protests in states like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have affected to achieve the target investment of 
25,000 crore for the company. "Retail is a tough business and requires a lot of rich knowledge of consumer behavior, which, in turn calls for experience and expertise. Plus, building business processes for each vertical as well as a supply chain isnt easy," opined the source.
Despite economic crisis, Reliance Retail and the AV Birla-owned More stores have witnessed an increase to as high as 800 in Reliance Retail's case. Luckily, the rentals have fallen by 20 percent and are likely to decline as much as 40 percent in a few months.
25,000 crore for the company. "Retail is a tough business and requires a lot of rich knowledge of consumer behavior, which, in turn calls for experience and expertise. Plus, building business processes for each vertical as well as a supply chain isnt easy," opined the source.
Despite economic crisis, Reliance Retail and the AV Birla-owned More stores have witnessed an increase to as high as 800 in Reliance Retail's case. Luckily, the rentals have fallen by 20 percent and are likely to decline as much as 40 percent in a few months.