The Indian unit of Walmart, the world's largest retailer, has laid off about a third of its top executives at its India headquarters in Gurgaon.

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The company said it "let go" 56 associates--eight in senior management and 48 in the middle and lower management-- as part of its review to operate more efficiently. All the sacked employees have been offered enhanced severance benefits and outplacement services, according Walmart India.

The company denied media reports that a second round of layoffs is due in April.

The move underscores the struggles Walmart has faced in expanding its wholesale business in India. The Bentonville, Ark. based company currently operates 28 wholesale stores where it sells goods to small shopkeepers, and not to retail consumers.

“We are also looking for ways to operate more efficiently, which requires us to review our corporate structure to ensure that we are organized in the right way, Krish Iyer, President & CEO, Walmart India, told CNBC-TV18.

A person close to the development said the number of people laid off by Walmart represented roughly 1 percent of its India workforce. This rationalisation comes at a time when there is a consumption slowdown playing out in the economy.

Walmart operates about 28 wholesale stores across India and had planned to expand to 50 stores over the next three-four years. “The pace of store expansion will come down and more focus is growing its B2B e-commerce business,” the sources said .

According to them, the company, which operates three fulfillment centres in India, also plans to shut its Mumbai fulfilment centre.

This strategy relook comes after Walmart bought e-commerce retailer Flipkart in 2018 in an estimated $16 billion deal. Without disclosing the exact revenue numbers, Walmart said that its sales grew 22 percent in India.

Reports suggest that Walmart India’s 'Best Price' stores had accumulated losses of Rs 2,180.8 crore until March 2019.

The firings mostly affected executives in the company's real estate division because the growth in the wholesale model has not been that robust, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

"It's happening because focus is shifting to e-commerce rather than physical (stores)," said the person, who declined to be identified as the decision is not public.

Walmart has around 600 staff in its India head office out of a total of around 5,300 nationally, the Reuters report said.

First Published:Jan 13, 2020 9:45 AM IST