Tata digital plans major workforce cuts at Tata Neu as new CEO drives strategic overhaul

Tata Digital is preparing for significant job cuts at its ecommerce platform Tata Neu as part of a sweeping strategic overhaul led by its new chief executive, Sajith Sivanandan. This marks the company’s third major reset since its inception and the first under Sivanandan, who is steering the business away from a “do-everything” and GMV-led growth philosophy towards a sharper, profitability-driven model. People familiar with ongoing discussions indicated that Tata Neu is expected to see a reduction of more than 50% in headcount as the company works to streamline and consolidate operations.

Sivanandan, formerly president of Jio Mobile Digital Services, assumed leadership in September, becoming Tata Digital’s third CEO since 2019. Under his direction, the group has already begun centralising digital marketing mandates for Titan, IHCL, Tata Motors and Tata Consumer Products, positioning Tata Digital as the conglomerate’s centralised digital and customer-funnel hub. Strategic assessments are also under way at BigBasket and Croma, with Sivanandan collaborating closely with both businesses to devise clearer execution strategies.

At BigBasket, the immediate emphasis is on BB Now, the company’s express delivery vertical competing with the rapidly expanding quick-commerce players Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart. The quick-commerce sector has become increasingly defined by shorter delivery timelines, improved store-level efficiencies and a push towards higher-margin categories. As a result, BigBasket is under pressure to strengthen BB Now’s performance while continuing to leverage its extensive grocery supply chain.

Croma, meanwhile, is shifting towards consolidating its retail footprint by closing loss-making stores and reasserting its position as an offline-first retailer with an online complement, rather than attempting to match the scale of ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart.

According to people aware of the internal restructuring, Tata Digital’s future priorities will revolve around three core areas: financial services, marketing services and a unified loyalty engine. The strategy aims to better monetise the Tata brand, centralise digital marketing expenditure across the group, and merge all loyalty programmes into one integrated rewards system.

Tata Digital declined to comment on the developments. The company has struggled to stabilise Tata Neu since its launch in April 2022, with multiple strategy shifts and senior-level churn contributing to operational challenges. Sivanandan’s appointment followed the departure of Naveen Tahilyani earlier this year, who had taken over from long-serving TCS executive Pratik Pal.

In its latest financial disclosures, Tata Digital reported a 13.8% drop in operating revenue for FY25 to ₹32,188 crore, even as net losses narrowed to ₹828 crore from ₹1,201 crore in FY24. The new leadership team now faces the dual challenge of improving financial performance while putting the struggling super-app on a more sustainable and scalable trajectory.