Ola sacks 1,000 staff to open door for EV expansion

Indian ride-hailing platform Ola is laying off nearly 1,000 staff across its mobility, hyperlocal, fintech, and used-car businesses, The Economic Times reported.

The retrenchment process is expected to continue for a few more weeks. However, a source close to the company’s recruitment practice told ET that the firm is doubling down on its electric vehicle unit and “aggressively” hiring for positions in the unit.

The development follows a report stating that Ola was firing as many as 500 employees, but new sources said that the final number could be double the original estimate, the report noted.

The company is delaying the annual appraisal of the employees it wants to fire, forcing them to resign, an Ola executive told ET.

Another source close to the development said that the dismissal could be seen as a “repurposing process” rather than a cost-cutting one, as the company is looking to hire about 800 workers for its electric car unit.

The ride-hailing major is also planning to develop its own lithium-ion battery cells and invested US$500 million to build an R&D facility earlier this month.

The move may signal the end of Ola’s super-app ambition. The firm’s business scale has shrunk rapidly in recent months as several ventures were closed down, such as its used-car arm Ola Cars, quick commerce unit Ola Dash, and food-related businesses Ola Foods and Ola Cafe.

However, Ola’s electric pivot is not going as smoothly as anticipated. The company is struggling to sell its electric scooters after a model caught fire earlier this year, forcing the firm to recall thousands of vehicles for diagnostics. Other quality control problems were also reported, such as a suspension malfunction and an EV with a broken stand.

See also: Tracking layoffs across Asia’s startup ecosystem