Ola Electric to lay off 500 staff in restructuring drive

MUMBAI: Less than four months after Ola Electric got listed on the bourses, it is laying off 500 employees as part of a restructuring exercise, sources told TOI. Employees across departments will be impacted by the move, which is being undertaken as part of the firm’s broader attempt to check costs and attain profitability.
“The company wants to optimise its workforce and remove inefficiencies from the system,” a source said.
Ola Electric declined to comment.
Ola Electric posted losses of Rs 495 crore in the Sept quarter on a consolidated basis. Losses, though, narrowed marginally on a year-on-year basis, increased sequentially.
Earlier this year, sister concern Ola Consumer (formerly Ola Cabs) had also laid off close to 200 or about 10% of its employees in a restructuring exercise. Listed startups are constantly scrutinised by the public markets which reward profitability. Ola Electric joined a batch of startups like FirstCry and Swiggy, which made their public debut on Dalal street this year.
Bhavish Aggarwal led Ola Electric has of late come under the scanner of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), which has ordered an investigation into complaints of deficiencies in services and products by the company.
Despite Ola Electric’s claims of addressing 99% of grievances, the CCPA has found that a large share of consumer complaints remained unresolved.