Walmart-owned e-commerce giant Flipkart, engaged in a fierce battle with Amazon in the Indian market, reportedly parted ways with four Senior Vice Presidents (SVPs) from the company.
Although the announcement was not made official, an ET report stated that Flipkart CEO Krishnamurthy communicated this decision through an internal message to the staff.
The departing executives include Ayyappan R, who was heading Cleartrip; Amitesh Jha, responsible for marketplace and categories; Dheeraj A, in charge of fintech and payments; and Bharath Ram, overseeing growth and retention.
Last month, Krishna Raghavan, the company’s Chief People Officer, also left Flipkart. In May 2023, several other key executives departed, including Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President and Head of New Businesses such as Shopsy, ReCommerce, and Cleartrip; Chanakya Gupta, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and D2C Brand Accelerator; and Ravish Sinha, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain, Product, and Technology.
Focused on achieving profitability
Krishnamurthy noted in the message, “Since its inception, Flipkart has always created stellar leaders who have not only scaled our business to new heights but have also moved on to create successful businesses in the ecosystem at large. Our approach to enabling wealth creation and career planning for all employees has given several individuals the opportunity to pursue the next phase of their careers, which has led to some exits among senior management.”
This move is viewed as part of a broader strategy to enhance agility and efficiency within the firm. The company is also aiming to achieve profitability by the end of calendar year 2024, according to the report.
CEO hints at future collaborations
Krishnamurthy stated that the company will continue to explore opportunities to collaborate with businesses established by these departing executives in the future.
The exits of these SVPs are part of a larger organizational restructuring that has seen performance-based reductions across all verticals, including vice presidents in engineering and product.
Reports indicate that between 5-7% of Flipkart’s workforce will be affected by these layoffs. Moreover, the SVP cohort, comprising about 20 executives, has witnessed nearly 30% turnover in the past year, signaling a significant period of transition for the company.
