According to people familiar with the company’s decision, JioStar, a recently established joint venture between Viacom18 of Reliance Industries Ltd. and India of The Walt Disney Co., would lay off more than 1,100 workers in order to eliminate further positions after the merger, Live Mint said. According to sources, the layoffs started a month ago and will continue until June 2025.

The Live Mint article states that the departments of corporate roles, finance, commercial, and law are seeing layoffs. Entry-level workers, senior managers, senior directors, and even assistant vice presidents are among those laid off. With the exception of the sports sector, which has not been trimmed because to the existing Champions Trophy, Women’s Premier League (WPL), and impending Indian Premier League (IPL) season 2025, regional networks in the entertainment sector, such as Colors Kannada and Colors Bangla, are seeing staff cutbacks.

The biggest media firm in India is JioStar, which was formed by the merger of Viacom18 and Disney’s Star India. The layoffs are a move in the right direction toward increasing productivity and concentrating on high-growth industries, including digital streaming and sports.

According to an industry executive keeping tabs on the events, “the staff restructuring is about optimizing resources and reducing duplication, ensuring the JV operates as a leaner and more efficient entity,” Live Mint was informed. According to reports from rival streaming services, JioStar employees with yearly packages over Rs 1 crore who are prepared to relocate are sending their resumes and CVs to them.

JioStar is providing the impacted workers with a substantial severance compensation. Depending on the number of years they worked, the fired employee will get compensation for six to twelve months. In addition to the notice period, which varies from one to three months, the impacted workers get one month’s full wage for each year they have worked for the firm.

Longer-serving employees may get up to 15 months of compensation, while individuals who have worked for less than six months will still receive at least seven months’ worth of pay and benefits, including the notice period.