Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal has revealed for the first time that he was removed from the company’s CEO for ‘performance issues.’
Bansal made this disclosure at a town-hall meeting in Bangalore. The revelation comes at the backdrop of the company’s decision to lay off more than 700 employees.
The number of employees who may be handed pink slips could run as high as 1,000, the company sources had said.
This is expected to “impact 1-2 per cent of the employee base” as the company wants to be a “lean organisation”, they had added.
Flipkart, which in recent times has faced lowering of valuation, has made several changes in its business model, including raising margins it charges from sellers.
Commenting on Bansal’s statement, a Flipkart spokesperson told NDTV, “The townhall that we conduct regularly is one of the pillars of this culture of openness…Anybody is free to ask any question, challenge existing norms and hold the leadership accountable for business and organisation metrics.”
In a significant reshuffle in January, Flipkart’s co-founder Binny Bansal had been appointed as the chief executive officer of India’s largest e-commerce company.
He had replaced Sachin Bansal, other co-founder, whose role was elevated to that of the Executive Chairman.
“E-commerce in India is going through its most exciting phase and Flipkart has played a pioneering role in shaping this very remarkable journey. We believe that Flipkart can play a transformational role in improving commerce in India and improve the quality of lives of millions of people across the farthest corners of the country,” Sachin was quoted as saying.
He added, “In this next phase of the journey, it will be our endeavour to fulfill this responsibility and prove that India can produce a world class internet company that can outshine any global behemoth. We also want to continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the internet and the commerce ecosystem of India.”