 "Ola Electric")
In the upcoming weeks, Ola Electric is set to lay off approximately 400-500 employees across the organisation. The move aims to control operating expenses in preparation for its proposed initial public offering (IPO), according to a report in The Economic Times.
The report said that a portion of the affected employees might be substituted with new hires at a more economical rate, but the total workforce is expected to decrease.
The report quoted a source as saying, “Inside, they (Ola Electric team) are finalising the list across different teams. Three to four teams have already finalised the numbers but the cuts would be across the organisation.”
When it submitted its draft IPO documents in December last year, the company said it had 3,733 employees as of October 2023. According to the draft filings, its employee attrition rate stood at 47.48 per cent in FY23.
Ola’s IPO application is currently under review by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The company aims to raise Rs 5,500 crore through the sale of new shares.
In April, Ola Cabs, the ride-hailing arm of the Ola group, reportedly terminated around 200 employees. Within a span of two weeks, Hemant Bakshi, chief executive of Ola Cabs, and chief financial officer (CFO) Kartik Gupta also exited the company.
Ola’s CXO team
CEO Bhavish Aggarwal is working closely with the ‘CXO team’ that includes his brother Ankush Aggarwal, who was earlier chief business officer at Ola Electric but has now moved to Ola Cabs.
The source said, “The focus across the group is to get to profitability as both units – cabs and electric vehicles – are in various stages of going public. That’s the mandate from Bhavish Aggarwal."
Scooter sales in 2024
The proposed job cuts are part of Ola Electric’s efforts to sustain its dominance in the electric scooter market in India. In May, the company recorded sales of over 37,000 scooters, capturing a 50 per cent market share. Non-commercial electric two-wheeler sales for the entire industry surged 17 per cent in May, compared to the previous month, totalling over 74,000 units, the report said.
However, in April, overall sales experienced a decline as the company sold 33,000 units in April. However, it maintained its leadership position but fell short of its record-breaking performance in March when it sold over 50,000 units.
The electric scooter market is witnessing heightened competition, with established players like TVS Motors and Bajaj Auto expanding their market shares to 19 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, in FY24.
