Flipkart has let go of around 500 employees this year, roughly 4% of its total workforce, in a performance-linked culling that is larger than usual.
The Walmart-owned ecommerce giant typically trims the bottom 1-2% of its workforce each year through annual performance reviews. This year, however, that number has climbed significantly higher, Economic Times reported.
Notably, more employees than usual were placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), and many of those who received a one-star rating in their annual appraisal were subsequently asked to leave.
2 March 2026
Get the latest issue of Outlook Business
Flipkart, in a statement to the Economic Times, said it conducts "regular performance reviews aligned with clearly defined expectations," adding that "a small percentage of employees may transition from the organisation" as part of this process. The company said it is providing transition support to those affected.
The layoffs appear to be confined to Flipkart and are not being replicated across other companies within the broader Flipkart Group, according to the report.
The cuts come at a time Flipkart is preparing for a long-anticipated IPO, targeted for late 2026 or early 2027.
Over the past two years, the company has steadily trimmed its senior leadership, reducing the number of Senior Vice Presidents from around 18 to fewer than a dozen. At the same time, it has been bringing in executives with more focused, specialised roles to replace some of those who departed.
Flipkart is not alone in tightening its belt. Its rival Amazon has also recently laid off nearly 100 white-collar employees from its robotics division as part of a cost-cutting drive, according to an earlier report by Business Insider.
It is to be noted that there is a wave of job cuts across the tech industry,. This reflects a broader recalibration, as companies that expanded aggressively in recent years now face pressure to cut costs, streamline operations, and in some cases, fund expensive bets on AI.
Payments company Block, co-founded by Twitter's Jack Dorsey, announced plans to cut 4,000 of its 10,000 employees. Most recently, Oracle has also planned to lay off thousands of workers this month after running into a cash crunch from its massive AI data centre expansion, according to a Bloomberg.
