Realme’s India Operations Are Being Merged Into Oppo, Layoffs Follow: Report

-Kabir Jain

Updated: Monday, February 9, 2026, 15:15 [IST]

Last month, Oppo began restructuring how it runs its India business, and Realme is at the centre of that shift. The two brands, which once operated as largely independent rivals on store shelves, are now moving toward a shared operational structure behind the scenes.

The change has already started to show up internally. Sales and support roles within Realme’s India operations are being cut as Oppo begins absorbing parts of the brand’s backend into its own organisation. People familiar with the matter say this is only the first phase, with more functions likely to be streamlined over time.

Neither Oppo nor Realme has publicly commented on the changes.

Realme’s Position Is Changing Again

Realme’s story has always been closely tied to Oppo. It launched in 2018 as an Oppo sub-brand before being spun out later that year as a separate label, complete with its own teams and distribution network. That separation helped Realme grow quickly, especially in India’s budget and mid-range segments.

Now, the strategy is being reset. Globally, Oppo has decided to reposition Realme as a sub-brand once again, instead of running it as a fully independent operation. In China, this transition has already taken place. In India, the process is moving more slowly, partly due to legal and regulatory factors, but the direction is clear.

What’s Actually Being Merged

For now, the focus is on backend functions rather than branding.

Sales teams have been asked to move into a revised structure, and Oppo’s existing marketing and service networks are expected to take on a larger role in supporting Realme devices. Support-heavy areas like after-sales service and offline distribution are likely to see the most overlap.

What isn’t changing, at least for now, is how the brands present themselves to consumers. Realme will continue to launch phones under its own name, with separate marketing and positioning. The consolidation is about cutting duplication behind the scenes, not removing Realme from the market.

This Fits a Familiar Pattern

This isn’t the first time Oppo has taken this approach in India. In 2021, OnePlus moved closer to Oppo, leading to shared research and development and tighter operational alignment.

The logic is similar this time around. Running parallel teams for brands that sit under the same parent increases costs, especially when the market slows down. By sharing resources, companies can reduce overheads while still keeping multiple brands alive for different customer segments.

This thinking has long been associated with the now-deregistered BBK Electronics, which once housed Oppo, Vivo, Realme, and OnePlus under a single umbrella.

Cost Pressure Is the Real Driver

India’s smartphone market remains fiercely competitive, but growth has become harder to come by. Component prices, especially memory, have gone up, and maintaining large sales and service networks is expensive.

Analysts see Oppo’s move as part of a broader shift across the industry. According to Counterpoint Research, brands that have already scaled globally are moving away from aggressive expansion and toward tighter cost control. That means fewer overlapping products, more focus on key markets, and leaner operations overall.

In simple terms, the easy growth phase is over, and companies are adjusting accordingly.

What This Means Going Forward

For buyers, nothing changes overnight. Realme phones will continue to launch, and Oppo will still operate as a separate brand in stores. The changes are largely internal, aimed at making the business more efficient rather than reshaping product lineups immediately.

Via