Flipkart, the Walmart-owned e-commerce firm, said it has created more than 250,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities, including for gig workers, for the festive season.
Nearly 75,000 of these opportunities, close to 30 per cent, are for people entering the workforce for the first time, creating pathways into employment across communities in India.
The opportunities span more than 7,000 Ekart facilities across the country, including fulfilment centres, sortation hubs and last-mile delivery operations.
With more than 900 new festive delivery hubs and nearly 140,000 additional last-mile employment opportunities, Flipkart is expanding its delivery network to meet rising customer demand ahead of Big Billion Days.
Last-mile opportunities account for 60 per cent of the new employment created this season, reflecting the expansion of Flipkart Minutes as well as growing demand across Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.
The expansion is also creating greater opportunities for women and persons with disabilities across Flipkart’s supply chain.
Women now represent more than 20 per cent of supply chain roles, while participation of persons with disabilities has increased across warehouse and delivery operations.
Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer, Flipkart Group, said commerce at scale creates opportunity at scale across jobs, livelihoods and entrepreneurship.
He said the nearly 75,000 people entering the workforce for the first time through Flipkart this festive season were one part of that larger ecosystem.
“As digital commerce grows across India, our responsibility is to ensure that this growth creates pathways into employment and entrepreneurship for more people, including communities that have historically had fewer opportunities to participate in the formal economy,” Kumar said.
“Our work with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, NCVET and ITI Kalyani through SCOA is aimed at creating those pathways, so that people can build skills and careers alongside the growth of the sector,” he said.
Hemant Badri, senior vice president, supply chain, customer experience and re-commerce, Flipkart Group, said the festive season brings together the full scale of India’s commerce ecosystem, with the supply chain playing a critical role.
“This year, we are expanding our fulfilment and last-mile network significantly to meet rising customer demand, while creating employment opportunities across the country,” Badri said.
“The addition of over 900 festive delivery hubs and nearly 1.4 lakh last-mile opportunities reflects the scale at which the network is growing, particularly as Flipkart Minutes expands and demand continues to deepen across Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets,” he said.
The development comes ahead of the festive season as the company faces intensifying competition from quick-commerce rivals including Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart.
Amazon India recently said it had created more than 160,000 seasonal work opportunities for the festive season across its pan-India operations network supporting its e-commerce and quick-commerce businesses.
These include direct and indirect work opportunities across 400 cities in India, spanning large metros as well as Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities such as Varanasi, Kochi, Jalandhar, Ghaziabad, Ranchi, Salem and Gorakhpur.
Amazon said it had created opportunities for thousands of women and associates with disabilities across its network.
The new associates will join Amazon’s existing pan-India operations network, helping pick, pack, ship and deliver customer orders while supporting growing demand during the festive period.
Amazon has already onboarded the majority of these associates in preparation for the festive season and has begun providing them with the necessary training.
Flipkart’s Supply Chain Operations Academy (SCOA) has awarded nearly 10,000 certifications ahead of the festive season, with trainees gaining hands-on experience across supply chain operations.
The programme is delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, NCVET and ITI Kalyani.
Flipkart said its marketplace ecosystem also enables millions of sellers, merchants and small businesses to reach customers across India, creating opportunities for entrepreneurship and participation in the country’s growing digital commerce economy.
Flipkart also continues to support its supply chain workforce through programmes including medical and accident insurance, 24×7 Doctor on Call and support for e-Shram registration.
