Key Highlights :
Reliance had nearly 1.9 lakh employees in FY 2024–25, taking its employee base to 4.03 lakh and surpassing Infosys.
Retailing (61% employees) and digital services (23%) contributed the most towards growth, while the CAGR of employees rose to 14.3% in four years.
Key Background :
Reliance Industries dominated refining, petrochemicals, and oil and gas for decades. Strategically diversifying in the last decade into a robust conglomerate with an iron grip over telecom, retailing, alternative energy, and the media space.
Reliance inducted its largest-ever number of employees in FY 2024–25, onboarding nearly 1.9 lakh workers and taking its staff strength to 4.03 lakh. Puts behind a subdued hiring year in FY 2023–24 when consumption was languid at the retail end. The rebound is an indicator that consumer sentiment is again on a positive trajectory and Reliance is preparing for business growth.
The company’s retail business is the largest employer of the group at 61% of its employee count. It includes supermarkets, fashion retail, electronics stores, and other consumer businesses spread across India’s urban and rural pockets. Digital services, headed by Jio, account for another 23%, a result of rising demand for connectivity, broadband, and digital platforms.
In contrast, Infosys has about 3.24 lakh employees, though TCS remains the largest private sector employer with more than 6 lakh individuals on its rolls. Reliance’s manpower base, however, has grown at a much more rapid pace 14.3% a year from FY 2021 to FY 2025, than the relatively sub-par growth of its IT peers at nearly 5.6% a year. This better growth has been the result of the company focusing on high-growth, consumer-centric business segments.
Reliance’s strong finances are the foundation of its employment policy. With its top line breaking ₹10.7 lakh crore in FY 2024–25 and bottom lines rising consistently, the company is in a position to heavily invest in human capital. Its diversification into multiple industry sectors keeps it stable and agile and enables it to respond immediately to fluctuations in market demand.
Overall, Reliance’s transformation from a company that has an inclination in energy to becoming a diversified corporate behemoth has placed it at the cutting edge of being among India’s largest employment generators. Its size, growth path, and diversification across sectors place it among the key drivers to the organized employment economy, determining the trend of industry-wise jobs hiring.
About the Author
Abhishek Roy
Abhishek Roy is a Managing Editor at Business Minds Media India.