Reliance Industries-Disney's joint venture JioStar to lay off 1,100 employees: Report

JioStar, a joint venture formed by Reliance Industries’ Viacom18 and Disney’s Star India, is reportedly laying off more than 1,000 employees as part of a major restructuring. 

According to Mint, the job cuts, which began about a month ago, could continue until June 2025.

These layoffs affect workers across various departments, including distribution, finance, commercial, and legal teams, and aim to remove overlapping positions after the merger.

Restructuring and merged entity

Viacom18 and Disney’s Star India joined forces in November 2024 to form JioStar, which is now India’s largest media and entertainment company.

This restructuring is meant to streamline the merged entity, reduce expenses, and focus on fast-growing areas such as sports broadcasting and online streaming.

Impact on employees and severance packages

The report further said that roughly 1,100 employees are losing their jobs, ranging from entry-level staff to senior managers and directors.

The company is offering what it calls a generous severance deal, which includes a payout of six to 12 months’ salary, depending on how long an employee has been with the firm. Affected employees also receive one month of full salary for each year of service. The notice period ranges from one to three months.

JioStar may offer new roles within Reliance Group companies, particularly to those with technology and digital services skills, the report said.

Channels and divisions affected

Although layoffs have been significant at regional entertainment channels like Colors Kannada and Colors Bangla, the sports division remains untouched for now.

JioStar plans to expand its sports offerings with new channels and is committed to covering major events such as the Champions Trophy, Women’s Premier League (WPL), and Indian Premier League (IPL). The decision to keep the sports segment intact suggests the company sees sports as a critical area for future growth.

Leadership

Nita Ambani serves as chairperson and Uday Shankar is vice chairperson of the new venture. The merger has combined well-known TV brands including Colors, Star Plus, Star Gold, and Star Sports under one umbrella, along with the JioHotstar streaming platform that reaches millions of viewers in India.