Ola Likely To Lay Off Up To 500 Employees In Cost Cutting Exercise

Nearly two months after Uber CEO said the company will cut down on costs and treat hiring as a ¡®privilege,¡¯ its rival Ola may announce some layoffs to cut costs.

Cab aggregator Ola, which is likely to roll out an IPO later this year or early next year, may lay off around 400-500 employees in a bid to significantly bring down its costs.

As per a report in Times Now, job cuts are taking place across departments amid growing concerns about the funding environment and a delay in listing plans for the Bengaluru-based startup.

The move comes days after the company decided to shut down its used vehicle business Ola Cars and Ola Dash¡ªthe 10-minute grocery delivery service launched by the mobility platform. The company has repurposed its infrastructure, technology and capabilities of Ola Cars toward expanding Ola Electric sales and service network.

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The company closed its used car business Ola Cars eight months after its launch as it concentrated on its electric two-wheeler and car verticals. So far, Ola has folded Ola Cafe, Food Panda, Ola Foods, and Ola Dash, the report stated.

¡°Key managers were asked to draw up a list of people from their respective teams last week who can be let go,¡± an anonymous source with knowledge of the matter reportedly told Moneycontrol.

Cutting cash burning heavy businesses such as Dash and reducing its workforce will give it more operational scope and also show a profitable business if the company wants to go for a public listing, the publication quoted another source as saying.

Ola employs about 5,000 staff, at present, the report stated. Also, the company plans to reportedly cut its workforce to focus on leaner and consolidated teams and capabilities, and scale in a manner without compromising its strong profitability.

The company¡¯s ride-hailing business is delivering its ¡°highest ever GMV¡± (gross merchandise value) month on month along with profits, and its electric vehicle (EV) unit has already become India¡¯s largest EV firm within months.

Earlier, Ola laid off around 1,400 employees from rides, financial services and food business in May 2020 as revenues fell by 95 per cent due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Times Now reported.

On the other hand, last month, Ola Electric mentioned that it has crossed Rs 500 crore revenue in the first two months of FY 2022-23, asserting that it was on track to cross the USD 1 billion (over Rs 7,800 crore) revenue by the end of this year.

Also Read: From Netflix To Cars24: List Of Companies That Have Laid Off Employees In 2022

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