Ola on Monday announced that nearly 200 engineers in its electric vehicles (EV) vertical, including some in the software vertical, have been asked to go. This is 10 per cent headcount of the 2,000-strong engineer workforce in the taxi ride aggregator firm. Ola said the move is part of a larger restructuring exercise towards its electric dream.
Television channel CNBC had first reported that nearly 500 employees are being laid off from various software verticals of ANI technologies which operates as Ola Cabs.
The company denied sacking any more employees than 200, adding that it is “centralising operations and is undertaking a restructuring exercise to minimise redundancy, while building a strong lateral structure that strengthens relevant roles and functions”.
The Bhavish Aggarwal-run company has nearly 1,100 employees in its core ride-hailing business. Earlier, restructuring exercises had impacted employees across product, marketing, sales, supply, technology, business, and operations verticals at the firm, affecting nearly 500 employees in the used-car and quick-commerce businesses – Ola Cars and Ola Dash – owing to a shift in focus to the EV two-wheeler and car verticals.
Though the firm said it “aims to increase its engineering talent pool to 5,000 over the next 18 months”, its EV sales are diminishing amid battery fire fears. The firm sold 3,421 EV two-wheelers in August, a drop from 3,862 units the company sold in July.
More than half a dozen senior executives have quit Ola Electric in recent months, while over 30 senior executives have left Ola in the past two years.
– With inputs from agencies
