Bags packed, Reliance Retail plans to shelve UP and Orissa, along with 10,000 jobs in both states

New Delhi: Given the negative experiences the company has had with its retail ventures at the hands of the Uttar Pradesh and Orissa governments, Reliance Industries is reportedly set to shelve its estimated Rs13,000 crore retail plans for the two states. Into cold storage along with the plans, go at least 10,000 jobs that would have been created.

Now, with the UP state government asking it to shut down shop, the company has decided to put its plans on hold, according to sources. 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in Uttar Pradesh and Orissa go into the cooler as well. Most of these jobs would have been in the company''s back-end and front-end operations.

The company is reportedly following a similar chain of thought for its ventures in Orissa, where it had planned to initially open 14 stores in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The estimated investment of Rs3,000 crore in the state is also expected to go into cold storage, along with the company''s Uttar Pradesh plans.

Reliance Retail reportedly had planned investments of around Rs8,000-Rs10,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh for its retail operations, which would have encompassed around 200 ''Reliance Fresh'' stores in a three year span, in addition to the back-end logistics and supply chain needed to keep these stores stocked. A few days ago, it was learnt that layoffs in Uttar Pradesh alone would total around 1,000.

The company is now planning to focus on states that have a favourable view of its retail enterprise.