IPO-Bound Ola Electric Plans To Cut 400-500 Jobs To Streamline Operations: Report

Electric vehicle maker Ola Electric is reportedly planning to trim its workforce by 400-500 employees to streamline operations.

Citing multiple people close to the matter, ET reported that founder Bhavish Aggarwal is sharpening his focus on reigning in operating costs ahead of initial public offering.

The report further added that the final number of layoffs at Bengaluru-based Ola Electric could still change as the leadership team is currently determining the scale of the reductions, which are expected to affect various verticals. Although, some of the impacted employees may be replaced with new hires at a lower cost, but the overall headcount is expected to shrink.

“Inside, they (Ola Electric team) are finalising the list across different teams. Three to four teams have already decided on the numbers, but the cuts will be organisation-wide,” a source told ET. The source added that Aggarwal has been consistently pushing to reduce costs across all avenues.

However, an Ola spokesperson told Inc42, “We are in a transformative high growth industry and our goal is to drive mass electrification. We do not know the layoff numbers that are being speculated.”

Prior to the latest restructuring exercise, the startup fired employees across two layoff rounds in the last two years. In January last year, it laid off 200 employees across Ola Cabs, Ola Electric and Ola Financial Services.

In April this year , Inc42 reported that ride hailing major Ola Cabs laid off around 10% of its workforce, or about 200 employees.

Besides, the company is also awaiting the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) approval for an INR 7,250 Cr initial public offering (IPO). The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of INR 5,500 Cr and an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of INR 1,750 Cr.

The EV manufacturer is planning to make a market debut later this year.

The job cuts coincide with a recent downturn in demand for electric two-wheelers, affecting most players in the sector. 

Despite a 35% month-on-month decline in vehicle registrations to 33,062 units, Ola Electric maintained its leading position, having recorded its highest-ever monthly registrations of over 50,000 units in March. In an effort to boost sales, the company reduced the prices of its latest escooter range, the S1 X, last month, with prices now ranging from INR 69,999 to INR 99,999, down from the previous range of INR 79,999 to INR 1,09,999.