Flipkart ESOP former employees: ex-executives ask Walmart for a way to cash out
By Shamyak
Published
At least eight former Flipkart executives wrote to Walmart on 1 October. Former staff hold roughly half of a $4 billion ESOP pool, some options held for over 10 years, and want what current staff get.
Original report
At least eight former Flipkart executives wrote to Walmart on 1 October 2026 asking for a way to cash in their vested stock options, Outlook Business reported. Former employees hold roughly half of an ESOP pool worth about $4 billion, spread across more than 30,000 current and former staff, the outlet said.
Many of those options were granted between 2008 and 2016 and have been held for more than 10 years, according to Outlook Business. The executives want the same liquidity that current staff get.
The former executives want liquidity, not goodwill
The letter asks for liquidity for vested options and a written response from the board, Outlook Business reported. "This is not merely a request for goodwill," the former executives wrote.
Inc42 reported that the signatories include Mukesh Bansal, Ankit Nagori and Amod Malviya. No timeline for the board's reply has been given.
The size of the pool explains why the letter matters.
The numbers, worked out
If former staff hold roughly half of a $4 billion pool, as Outlook Business reported, about $2 billion of Flipkart options sit with people who have left.
Spread over the 30,000-plus current and former holders, $4 billion works out to no more than about $133,000 each on average. That is a simple average, not what any one person holds.
Inc42 reported that Flipkart was valued at about $38 billion in July 2026.
That value is easier for current staff to reach than for leavers.
Current staff have a route that leavers want
Current employees could sell up to 5% of their vested options, Inc42 reported. The former executives are asking for fair and equitable treatment alongside them, Outlook Business reported.
Walmart said it would "look into the matter", and an IPO remains part of Flipkart's roadmap, Inc42 reported. Neither company has given a date for a listing.
How the reporting differs
A Moneycontrol headline in our feed said over 1,000 former employees were seeking fair treatment. The reports we read describe a letter from at least eight former executives; we could not find the 1,000 figure in them, so we have not used it.
What happens next
The former executives have asked the board for a written response. No date has been set for it, and no IPO date has been announced.
How we did this
We read Outlook Business's report on the letter and the size of the ESOP pool, and Inc42's report on the signatories, Walmart's response and the terms for current staff. We worked out the share held by former staff and the average holding from the reported totals. We compared those reports with headlines in our news feed on 11 October 2026. The reports gave dollar figures only, so we have not converted them to rupees.
This story was produced with AI assistance and reviewed, edited and verified by the reporter before publication.
Covered by 2 outlets across the spectrum: 0% left, 100% center, 0% right.
Who is covering this story
- Center (2): Inc42, Outlook Business