HUL Trims Permanent Staff by 8.6%, Worker Count Falls Too as Demand Slowdown Bites

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) reduced both its permanent employee and worker count in fiscal year 2026 (FY26), as India's largest consumer goods company navigated sluggish demand, with sales growth of 5% and flat profit after tax from continuing operations.

According to its annual report, HUL's permanent workforce declined 8.6% to 7,499 employees as of March 31, 2026, from 8,202 a year earlier. Its worker count fell 5.3% to 17,490 from 18,465. Median employee remuneration at the company rose 6.1% during the year.

MD Priya Nair, who took charge on August 2025, succeeding Rohit Jawa, said the company focused on volume-led revenue growth, deepened its consumer-segmentation strategy across product development, pricing and distribution and increased resource allocation toward high-growth categories.

"Operating successfully in this environment required a careful balance of discipline in making clear portfolio choices, allocating capital prudently, and agility in execution," Nair said in the annual report.

HUL's salon business Lakme Lever posted sales growth of 11% at ₹386 crore, while Zywie Ventures, which owns the brand Oziva, recorded sales growth of 80% to ₹462 crore during the year.

Parent Company's India Push

This comes at a time when HUL's parent Unilever is expanding its focus on India, where it plans to introduce a growing portfolio of personal care, wellness and beauty brands, according to multiple reports.

Global CEO Fernando Fernandez was quoted at a global consumer conference as saying the company would not miss the opportunity in India as it did in China.

"We got late to the Chinese party. We will not get late to the Indian party," Fernandez was reported to have said, referring to the company's portfolio of digitally native brands.

Among these are vitamin gummy brand Olly, hair growth supplement brand Nutrafol, colour cosmetics brand Hourglass, premium haircare brand K18 and Liquid I.V., which was introduced in India in April last year.

"These are brands we are building in the USA, achieving critical mass, and internationalising. They are close to making 80 million Euro in China. We now have a portfolio of super premium brands that will travel into India at the right time," Fernandez added.

Unilever also has plans for Minimalist, the skincare and haircare brand that HUL acquired for nearly ₹3,000 crore in April last year, as per reports.

Notably, HUL on June 2, inaugurated the new Unilever Fragrance Hub in Mumbai, marking an expansion of the company's global innovation and research and development presence in India.