Amazon will reportedly shut down some of its operations in India amid a global cost-reduction campaign by CEO Andy Jassy, sources familiar with the matter said, according to media reports.
The technology giant is exiting some of its businesses in India, including meal deliveries and the business providing bulk doorstep deliveries of packaged consumer goods to small businesses, a Bloomberg report said.
Amazon will be relying on its core offerings in India, the report added, laying off hundreds out of its workforce. The American multinational employs more than 100,000 people in India on a full-time basis for its worldwide operations. Other projects that were in beta-testing might also be canceled, the report said.
Jassy, the company's CEO since July 2021, is cutting expenses globally as growth slows down in several of Amazon’s businesses. “We remain committed to India and will continue to invest across those areas where we can bring value to our customers,” Amazon said in an emailed statement seen by Bloomberg.
Amazon is reportedly planning to cut down about 10,000 jobs on a global scale, its largest-ever headcount reduction.
India's e-commerce spending is expected to double in size to over $130 billion by 2025, as per a TechCrunch report.
Amazon faces strong competition in India from Reliance Industries, Tata Group, and Walmart's Flipkart. Despite Amazon's dominance in other markets, such as the US, the case is different in India as it has been trying to increase its presence in the South Asian country through stakes in local firms and exploring partnerships with neighborhood stores.
According to a report by investment firm Sanford C. Bernstein, Amazon has so far offered “a weaker proposition in ‘new’ commerce” in India, compared to other competitors. Amazon's 2021 gross merchandise value in India stood between $18 to $20 billion, which is less than Flipkart’s $23 billion, the report highlighted.
