Last week, reports surfaced about Ambani's upcoming launch of a new platform called 'Jio Smart Daily' under his Reliance Retail arm. As a consequence, the Reliance-backed startup Milkbasket was expected to carry out layoffs.

Now, a spokesperson for the company has dismissed these reports and has confirmed that Milkbasket is being integrated with Ambani's e-commerce firm JioMart. Furthermore, Milkbasket has refuted any claims of reducing its workforce.

Milkbasket, in which Reliance Retail holds a substantial 96.49 per cent stake, has witnessed remarkable growth under Mukesh Ambani's financial backing. Thanks to his support, the company has expanded its presence from merely three cities to approximately 30.

Milkbasket is set to undergo a significant transformation as it integrates with the 'Jio Smart Daily' platform. Reliance is reportedly planning to rebrand the Milkbasket app under the Jio brand as part of this integration process.

In response to layoff reports, Milkbasket clarified that there could be some realignment or reallocation of roles within the group, but they emphasised that no employees were being terminated. 

During the last three to four months, Milkbasket has experienced significant turnover in its senior and mid-level positions. Following the integration with JioMart, the company's co-founder Yatish Talvadia, Chief Operating Officer Abhinav Imandi, and Chief Financial Officer Gaurav Srivastava all departed from Milkbasket.

In the second quarter of FY22, Reliance announced the acquisition of a 96.49% stake in Milkbasket, which was officially disclosed in October 2021. Although the exact deal size was not disclosed by Reliance, sources from Entrackr estimated it to be in the range of $40-45 million. 

Prior to this acquisition, Milkbasket had raised approximately $33 million from investors like Mayfield, Unilever, Beenext, and Blume Ventures, among others. After the acquisition, Reliance played a crucial role in expanding Milkbasket's presence to 30 cities across the country. Before the acquisition, Milkbasket primarily operated in the Delhi-NCR region.