Flipkart commenced a $700 million “one-time discretionary” money payout to workers on Friday, the single-largest such compensation within the Indian startup ecosystem.
The Walmart-backed Bengaluru-headquartered startup is compensating workers for the separation of fintech PhonePe from the e-commerce group, a transfer that devalued Flipkart’s shares.
The 2 corporations accomplished a full possession separation late final 12 months in a deal that was structured to permit shareholders within the Singapore entities of each corporations to buy shares immediately in PhonePe’s India entity. PhonePe, along with separating from Flipkart, has additionally moved its headquarters to India and raised $850 million in latest quarters because it bulks its warchest and enters new classes, together with e-commerce.
In an e-mail to workers earlier Friday, Flipkart Group chief government Kalyan Krishnamurthy stated the “much-awaited compensation might be made at the moment.” He added: “Now we have thrilling instances forward, and as we proceed to develop throughout companies, I sit up for your continued dedication and willpower to convey in regards to the future that we envision and scale new heights collectively.”
A Flipkart spokesperson advised TechCrunch that the payout had been made. The corporate declined to say what number of workers are receiving the payout, however native media estimates the determine to be over 18,000.
The payout comes at a time when Flipkart has contemplated one other spherical of financing from buyers. The agency, which competes in opposition to Amazon in India, raised $3.6 billion at a valuation of $37.6 billion in mid-2021. Flipkart, which additionally counts Tiger International and SoftBank amongst its backers, has already exhausted most of that capital, in response to an individual conversant in the matter.