Priyanka Bhowmick

Health and wellness platform Cult.fit (formerly Cure.fit) has laid off about 150 employees. This is the first layoff at the Bengaluru-based firm in three-and-a-half years. According to sources, the layoffs have affected employees across the department. "130-150 senior to mid-level employees were affected in the exercise," said a source requesting anonymity. Sources stressed that the layoffs are mainly to increase runways and cut costs. However, the company has denied any such reasons. A company spokeswoman said in a statement that it had "reduced some redundant positions to streamline operations." The move is part of a "regular annual operating planning process."…

Swedish fashion giant H&M has taken out an ad for school clothes that critics said ‘sexualized young girls’, the company said on Tuesday. "Turn those heads in H&M's back to school fashion", the campaign, launched in Australia, features two young women in school uniforms. Social media users slammed the company for the ad, which was later withdrawn. “We have removed this ad. We deeply regret this offense and we are looking at how we handle the campaign moving forward," a company spokesperson told AFP. Melinda Tankardrist, a writer, asked the company about its intentions behind the ad. "What's your point…

Amazon on Saturday said it has removed sweets sold as "Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad", a day after receiving a notice from the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for selling misleading products. Amazon acknowledged it had received a communication from the CCPA about misleading product claims by certain sellers and said it was "investigating them for violations." "In the interim, we are taking appropriate action against such listings by our policies," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. CCPA has issued a notice to Amazon for selling sweets called 'Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad'. The action was initiated by the…

Leading food and beverage major PepsiCo India has promoted Jagrat Kotecha as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, AMESA (Africa, Middle East and South Asia region) as CEO of India operations, replacing Ahmed Elsheikh. Kotecha holds a BE Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Mumbai. He holds an MBA, in Marketing from SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS). He joined Cadbury India sales between 1992-1994. In 1994 he joined PepsiCo India Sales and Marketing and held various sales and marketing roles, becoming Regional Sales Manager in 1997 and Marketing Manager - Western Snacks till 1999. Between…