# Company executives said the reduction in headcount was largely linked to a new initiative in Reliance Jio’s homes business.

*genai · news · 2026-05-28 · The Financial Express*

## Key points

- Reliance Jio transitioned employees in smaller markets into micro entrepreneurs managing local geographies.
- Personnel were transferred to Reliance Enterprise Intelligence (REIL), a new AI-focused venture with Meta.
- Jio Platforms filed 3,476 patents in FY26, doubling its filings compared to FY25.
- Reliance’s R&D expenditure rose to Rs 4,682 crore in FY26, up 11.9% from FY25.
- Retail vertical saw the largest headcount increase with 42,511 new employees added in FY26.

Company executives said the reduction in headcount was largely linked to a new initiative in Reliance Jio’s homes business, where employees in smaller markets were offered the opportunity to transition into micro entrepreneurs. Many employees opted for the scheme and are now independently managing local micro geographies and generating employment in their respective areas. “The scheme was a success and many, now former, employees are handling small geographies as contractors in the homes business. In fact, they now employ people in their respective areas,” an official said. The overall movement in employee count also reflected the transfer of personnel to Reliance Enterprise Intelligence (REIL), Reliance Industries’ new AI-focused venture established in partnership with Meta. At group level, RIL added 16,608 employees in FY26 as compared to FY25, an increase of 4.12%. Headcount as on March 31, 2026, stood at 419,911 versus 404,303 on March 31, 2025. The conglomerate said it had more than 100,000 new hires during the fiscal, almost half of the 190,000 new hires it said it added in FY25. Among the five business verticals, retail showed the maximum jump in employee count at 42,511 with a total headcount of 290,293 at the end of FY26. The vertical’s expansion is believed to be the key driver for the additions. Both oil-to-chemical and media and entertainment verticals also saw headcount reduction, while oil-to-gas saw a minor increase in workforce. Patent Push in FY26 Jio Platforms sharply accelerated its intellectual property push in FY26, filing about 3,476 patents during the year — nearly 10 patents a day—compared with 1,654 filings in FY25 and 1,255 in FY24. As of March 31, 2026, Jio and its subsidiaries had cumulatively filed 6,817 patents globally, with 1,009 granted. Jio’s patents span 6G, 5G, AI-LLM, AI-deep learning, big data, IoT, NB-IoT, devices, and homegrown 5G stack technologies including multi-user FWA (fixed wireless access), JioBrain and AI-led offerings. At the broader Reliance level, the O2C business had filed 2,527 patent applications across more than 55 countries, with 1,177 grants in areas such as circular economy, green hydrogen, bio-innovations, responsible chemistry and indigenisation. Reliance’s total R&D expenditure rose to Rs 4,682 crore in FY26, up 11.9% from Rs 4,185 crore in FY25. This included Rs 3,317 crore in capital expenditure and Rs 1,365 crore in revenue expenditure. The company said its R&D efforts are supported by over 1,000 scientists, engineers and specialists working across digital technologies, energy transition and advanced manufacturing.

**Companies:** Reliance Industries
**Countries:** India

[Read the full story on The Financial Express](https://www.financialexpress.com/business/news/rils-digital-services-employee-count-decreases-21-in-fy26/4253853/)

---

Canonical: https://newsio.io/n/e0aed105-92ac-4e77-9c17-7b527e5610e4/company-executives-said-the-reduction-in-headcount-was-largely-linked-to-a-new-i
Summarized by Newsio from The Financial Express. https://newsio.io/how-it-works