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“The departures started a month ago, and they are not ending anytime soon,” said one of the people quoted above. The layoffs will continue till June, the people said.
The job cuts are primarily affecting corporate roles in distribution, finance, commercial, and legal departments, nearly a dozen people who spoke with Mint confirmed, speaking on the condition of anonymity. They said the layoffs include entry-level employees, senior managers, senior directors and even those at the assistant vice-president level.
“So far, sports has remained untouched because the Champions Trophy, Women’s Premier League (WPL), and Indian Premier League (IPL) are scheduled back-to-back,” said these people. Several regional entertainment channels, including Colors Kannada and Colors Bangla, have seen significant workforce reductions, they said.
Industry executives indicate that Disney Star already has a strong presence in key regional markets, which may lead to future rationalization at Viacom18’s regional channels. However, JioStar is gearing also up to expand its sports portfolio, with new channels expected to be launched.
A JioStar spokesperson declined to comment on the layoffs.
Why the layoffs
With Viacom18 and Disney’s Star India merger creating India’s largest media company, JioStar is consolidating businesses to improve efficiencies and focus on high-growth verticals, particularly sports and digital streaming.
“Whenever two large companies with similar businesses merge, redundancies are inevitable,” said an industry executive tracking the developments. “This restructuring is about optimizing resources and reducing duplication, ensuring the JV operates as a leaner and more efficient entity.”
A rival company’s chief executive officer said he was receiving CVs from JioStar employees with over ₹1 crore annual packages who are ready to move.
‘Generous severance’
JioStar is offering a “generous severance” package to the affected employees, said the people quoted earlier. The payout structure ensures six to 12 months of salary, depending on the years served.
The affected employees are getting one month’s full salary for every year completed at the company, in addition to the notice period, which ranges from one to three months.
For instance, someone who has served less than six years will still receive a minimum of seven months of full pay and benefits, including the notice period, while those with longer tenures could get up to 15 months of compensation.
Even employees who have not completed the mandatory five-year tenure for gratuity eligibility will receive a pro-rata payout.
A few affected employees, particularly from tech and digital services, may be offered roles within Jio or the broader Reliance ecosystem, according to one of the people quoted earlier.
Taking on Netflix, Amazon Prime
JioStar, valued at ₹70,352 crore (post-money basis), aims to take on streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, while strengthening its traditional television portfolio.
Reliance Industries, through Viacom18 and direct ownership, controls a majority stake in the company, while Disney holds 36.84%. Nita M. Ambani has been appointed chairperson of the new entity, with Uday Shankar serving as vice-chairperson.
JioStar’s portfolio spans entertainment and sports assets, including TV channels such as Colors, Star Plus, Star Gold, and Star Sports, as well as the now-merged digital streaming platform JioHotstar, which aims to reach over a billion viewers across India.
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