Realme Layoffs Begin in India as OPPO Merger Reshapes Sales Operations
- Utshab Biswas
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Now, Realme's evolving relationship with OPPO is starting to have visible, real-world implications in India. According to reports, what looked like a strategic structural change earlier is now turning into a large-scale operational restructuring with layoffs hitting sales executives and management-level employees across multiple regions.
According to details accessed through offline retail sources, the company has started reducing its on-ground workforce as part of a broader cost-cutting exercise linked to its integration under OPPO. While Realme will continue to exist as a smartphone brand, its independent operational identity in India appears to be gradually fading.
Retail insiders say that instructions with regards to workforce restructuring have already reached several field teams. Employees working in sales positions, including area sales managers and retail-facing employees, are said to have been communicated that they may remain on duty for just another month or two ahead before their roles are discontinued.
In some cases, it has been alleged that employees have been asked to send in their resignations, mentioning April 30 as a probable last working day. News emanating from Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab suggests the layoffs are not confined to any one territory, but a well-orchestrated country-wide restructuring move.
This development marks one of the first tangible operational consequences following the announcement that Realme will no longer function as an independent brand and instead will operate as a sub-brand within OPPO's ecosystem. According to industry sources, OPPO has already started taking over the sales operations which were being looked after by Realme employees. People employed across counters, regional offices, and distribution networks are likely to be implicated, as OPPO’s strong and existing infrastructure for carrying out marketing, logistics, and sales will most likely take over a majority of the operations formerly handled by Realme’s employees.
In terms of corporate efficiencies, the move is line with a wider trend towards eliminating duplicates between brands within the same parent group. For employees of the same people who helped Realme build its successful offline business in India during the last eight years, the move has been incredibly disruptive.
The restructuring also signifies a symbolic shift in Realme’s history, as, when it first launched back in 2018, it effectively started life as a sub-brand of OPPO but then subsequently split away into a brand in its own right later that year.
In fact, its first smartphone had the brand name “By OPPO” prominently displayed on the device. This further speaks to the close relationship between the two companies. Today, Realme has been able to carve out an image for itself as a youth-centric budget smartphone brand.
Nevertheless, it is now, after almost a decade of independent brand identity, that Realme is seen to be reverting back to its original structural position within the overall OPPO universe an full-circle phenomenon, so to speak. Both Realme and OPPO are under the same parent umbrella, BBK Electronics-the conglomerate that controls several other major smartphone brands like Vivo, OnePlus, and iQOO.
Given the mentioned above common ownership, such operational consolidation does not come as a complete surprise. Significant reduction in operational expenditure can be achieved, while efficiency in highly competitive markets like India may get advanced by streamlining sales channels, marketing resources, and service infrastructure across brands.
Still, the speed and scale at which the restructuring of Realme's workforce reportedly is unfolding has managed to catch many observers off guard. And for consumers, this restructuring undertaken through a merger may, in the long run, offer some advantages too. The service network of OPPO may expand and mature, becoming more accessible for consumers, especially in small cities and semi-urban areas. The consistency of software support may also be enhanced if its development patterns become unified.
Employees face a much more complex picture. Layoffs related to corporation consolidation may create a sudden concern, obviously for those positions more closely related to brand-specific operations in the fields.
Though Realme as a product brand is expected to continue its product rollout and brand expansion, the human cost of integration, which is immediately felt, is upon the human resource force that helped Realme carve out a name for itself. However, Realme is unlikely to completely fade off the Indian smartphone scene, despite the ongoing restructuring. Instead, the brand may morph into a far tighter integration of OPPO's wider strategy-it could get more aggressive on pricing, youth-oriented marketing, and fast-paced product launches, all leaning on the backend strength of OPPO.
With this, such a model could allow the company to remain competitive against rivals in the mid-range and budget smartphone segments where pricing pressure and distribution efficiency play important roles.
However, the long-term success of this transition is truly dependent upon
The success of this transition in the long run, however, depends upon how well operations are integrated and if the brand is able to preserve the distinctive identity with which it emerged in Indian consumers' minds in the first place.
If Realme manages to combine its youthful branding and aggressive value strategy with OPPO’s stronger infrastructure, the merger could ultimately strengthen its market position. But in the short term, the restructuring highlights a familiar reality of corporate consolidation while businesses may become leaner and more efficient, employees often bear the heaviest burden of change.
