Flipkart's Top Execs To Exit Amid Ecommerce Major's Push For Profitability

E-commerce giant Flipkart, currently streamlining its workforce to enhance profitability, could reportedly see at least four senior vice presidents leave the company, adding to the recent executive exits at the company.

What Happened: Among those set to leave are Ayyappan R, head of Cleartrip; Amitesh Jha, who leads marketplace and categories; Dheeraj A, head of fintech and payments and Bharath Ram, who oversees growth and retention at the online retailer, Economic Times reported, citing sources.

Jha has been with Flipkart since 2010, while Ayyappan has been a part of the firm since 2013, making them among the longest-tenured executives at the Bengaluru-based company.

This development comes as Flipkart group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy reportedly aims to enhance agility and efficiency within the organisation.

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Taking Off The Load: Krishnamurthy’s agenda includes streamlining Flipkart’s structure, which has been described as top-heavy, reminiscent of the challenges faced by the company during the 2016 period. During that time, Flipkart faced intense competition from Amazon, prompting a need for organizational restructuring.

To address these issues, Flipkart has engaged with a prominent consulting firm to streamline its organizational structure across different levels, sources told the business daily.

Meanwhile, the company is also actively filling the vacancies left by departing executives. Sandeep Karwa, who previously headed the fashion vertical, has transitioned to lead the advertisement vertical, while Arief Mohamad has taken charge of Flipkart Fashion.

These changes coincide with Flipkart’s ongoing performance-based adjustments across all verticals, including engineering and product. Overall, the company is expected to see an impact on 5-7% of its employees due to these layoffs.

Flipkart’s strategic realignment occurs against the backdrop of discussions to secure fresh funding, estimated at $1 billion (₹8,300 crore). Walmart, its US parent company, has already committed $600 million (₹5,000 crore) towards this funding round.

A significant portion of this capital will be allocated to bolstering financial services following the separation of PhonePe.

Krishnamurthy, in a recent town hall meeting, reportedly expressed confidence in Flipkart’s journey towards profitability, highlighting a reduction in monthly cash burn.

The company remains focused on expanding its grocery offering and travel business under Cleartrip, while also scaling its low-price commerce vertical Shopsy and core businesses such as smartphones, electronics and appliances and fashion.

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