It hasn’t been long since Ola Electric let go about 500 people in November of 2024. Now, the electric vehicle manufacturer, led by Bhavish Aggarwal, is trimming the workforce yet again, to cut losses.
The job cuts will impact various departments, including charging infrastructure division, fulfilment, procurement, and customer relations.
In this second round of job cuts, more than one-fourth of the workforce will be laid off, excluding those working on contract.
The company has reportedly restructured its operations and embraced automation in order to control costs, improve customer experience and increase margins. In the process, it has done away with redundant roles so that productivity is not compromised.
The December quarter saw Ola incurring 50 per cent increased losses, from Rs 376 crore during the same period last year, to Rs 564 crore. Stiff and growing competition in the electric vehicles (two-wheeler) space is responsible for this fall in revenue. In addition to poor sales, the net loss went up 14 per cent from Rs 495 crore.
To add to its woes, the company has been tackling complaints from buyers too followed by criticism on social media.
When it had let go 500 employees in November last year, Ola Electric’s market share in the electric two-wheeler segment had fallen from 49 per cent in Q1 FY25 to 33 per cent in Q2. At that time too the decline was attributed to rising competition and persistent service network issues. Investor confidence had also taken a hit. The company’s shares had seen a dramatic fall.
