Reliance Jio, Retail record 65% jump in attrition in FY23

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has seen a substantial uptick in incidences of “voluntary separation” in its retail and telecom divisions in 2022-23. Attrition rates rose by 64.8% over FY22, according to the annual reports of the conglomerate.

Although the conglomerate spanning oil to telecommunications boosted its hiring efforts, the momentum was lost following its acquisitions as operational redundancies led to duplication of roles across various functions, said three people aware of the development.

“RIL made several acquisitions in the retail segment and this led to overlap of functions. Some executives decided to take on other responsibilities while several others left the firm to join other industries during the hiring boom,” said an industry executive.

As many as 167,391 employees left RIL during FY23, including 119,229 retail and 41,818 Jio employees. The firm’s data for its retail arm included only its on-roll employees.

The head of a Delhi-based recruitment firm said even Jio is focused on Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI)-based functions for hiring. Its requirement for sales executives has fallen.

“Exits in both retail and Jio have been in the junior to mid management levels,” said the recruiter speaking to Mint on the condition of anonymity.

Queries to RIL did not elicit any response till press time.

However, overall, there has been an uptick in fresh hiring, with the company recruiting 262,558 employees in FY23 compared with 232,822 in FY22 across businesses.

The rise in “voluntary separations” also follows the cost efficiency drive adopted at the end of last fiscal into FY24 as part of the group’s strategy to drive efficiencies, and laying off under-performers.

In May, e-commerce platform JioMart sacked many people as part of a cost-cutting exercise.