Ola starts laying off; 1,000 to be rendered jobless

Ola, the ride-hailing platform has shifted focus to its electric vehicles (EV) business and to the manufacture of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.

The Company has started laying off people, and about one thousand will lose their jobs.

Instead of firing them, Ola is reportedly asking them to voluntarily put in their papers. Postponing the appraisals is one of the tactics being used by the Company to get people to resign as per media reports.

Earlier this month, Ola had revealed plans to reduce headcount by at least 400 people. It has intensified hiring for its electric vehicles (EVs) business. Now, it is reported that about 1,000 are being asked to leave as part of its internal restructuring exercise.

In June, the ride-hailing platform had already closed down Ola Dash, its quick commerce business, and Ola Cars, which was its used cars business, which rendered 500 people unemployed.

At that time too Ola had admitted that it is going to focus more on the EV mobility wing.

However, it is reported that for each person being terminated, Ola is hiring four people with skills pertaining to electric cars manufacturing and producing lithium-ion batteries.

It had launched its Li-ion cell manufacturing business in July and is preparing to produce the same in big volumes by next year. In fact, it has revealed its intention to pump in about $500 mn in its Bangalore battery innovation centre or BIC.