With Future Group selling a large chunk of its business to Reliance Retail, doubts emerged over the fate of the employees post the sale. In a letter to employees, the group’s founder Kishore Biyani assured them that no jobs will be lost due to the deal and the reorganisation of the company. “Everyone who is part of Future Group today will have a role in the future of this business as well,” he said.
This letter comes after the Hindu Business Line quoted sources as saying that Future Retail could lay off up to 15% of its employees with job functions overlapping between Future Retail and Reliance Retail. Future Group has around 50,000 employees.
Last week, Reliance Retail acquired the retail and wholesale business of Future Enterprises in a slump sale for Rs 24,713 crore. This includes key formats such as Big Bazaar, FBB, Foodhall, Easyday, Nilgiris, Central and Brand Factory. Future Group is also selling its logistics and warehouse business to Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL).
After this transaction, Future Enterprises will retain the manufacturing and distribution of FMCG goods and integrated fashion sourcing and manufacturing business and its insurance joint ventures with Generali and JVs with NTC Mills.
On Wednesday, Biyani wrote to employees that the primary objective of the company was to ensure continuity of the business and the protection of the interests of all its stakeholders, including employees, and that the deal with Reliance meets this objective.
“The Covid-19 pandemic created an unprecedented situation and affected everyone in the country and the world. The lockdown and fear around the diseases had a severe impact on our business. In the midst of this, we wanted a holistic solution that could address all the challenges in the overall macro-economic situation,” he said.
He further assured employees that they will be together in some way or the other in the journey ahead as well, as every one of them has been part of Future Group for many years.
He also hinted that if not at Future Group, there would be positions and opportunities at Reliance Retail as well.
“Reliance will be taking over the retail, wholesale and logistics business and operate our stores. The transaction will require a few approvals, and this may take another four to five months to complete. They are aggressively growing their retail business and will require even more people than those currently engaged in the business,” he said.
At Future Group as well, Biyani said that even post the deal being complete, the company will still have a large backend business including the sourcing and manufacturing of FMCG and fashion products, which Reliance too will be investing in.
Future Group, he said, will invest in it, grow it, create new brands and distribution for the products, and also supply to the retail network Reliance has.
“In both the above journeys, we will be there with you during this period and thereafter. I know the past few months have been very difficult for everyone involved. The solution we are bringing in place is to bring back normalcy to the business and prepare for the better days that are surely ahead of us,” he said.
Terming it the beginning of a new ‘yuga’, he said the company needs to start afresh and begin rebuilding everything, in a bigger and better way. And everyone associated today with the company will be required to contribute in these journeys, he added.
“A new Yuga is also an opportunity to rewrite the rules once again. Today, let us start rebuilding for the new Yuga. If you have any further questions in mind, please write to me and I will answer it to the best of our ability. Rewrite Rules, Retain Values,” Biyani said, signing off.