Ola to lay off at least 200 employees across software teams

Cab aggregator Ola has started handing over pink slips to employees across software teams, according to a CNBC-TV18 report that cited sources.

According to that report, at least 500 employees are likely to be laid off across different software verticals of ANI technologies. However, Ola later clarified that nearly 200 engineers, including some in the software vertical, have been asked to have been asked to go from its 2000-strong engineer workforce, or 10 percent of the headcount, as part of a larger restructuring  exercise.

Many of these employees are believed to have been working on different aspects of the Ola app. The move comes against the backdrop of declining sales of the Ola Electric scooter.

Ola, which launched its electric scooter in December last year, has been carrying out a restructuring exercise for the past few months. The company had earlier laid off close to 2,000 employees due to the closure of the pre-owned car business, Ola Cars, and quick commerce business Ola Dash. More than 30 senior officials, including members of Bhavish Agarwal's leadership team, have quit in the last two years.

"Ola Electric has been increasing its focus on non-software engineering domains with a clear focus on building engineering and R&D capabilities across - vehicle, cell, battery, manufacturing and automation, autonomous engineering streams, and others," the company said in a statement on Monday.

"The company is centralizing operations and is undertaking a restructuring exercise to minimize redundancy and build a strong lateral structure that strengthens relevant roles and functions," the statement said.

Ola did not comment on the number of employees being laid off, however, said that the company currently has around 2000 engineers and aims to increase its engineering talent pool to 5000 over the next 18 months, it added.

In a statement, the company said, "Ola Electric, India’s largest EV company, has been increasing its focus on non-software engineering domains with a clear focus on building engineering and R&D capabilities across - vehicle, cell, battery, manufacturing and automation, autonomous engineering streams.

In March, an Ola S1 scooter caught fire. The case along with eight other incidents of electric scooter fires was investigated by a high-level committee, which found shortcomings in the BMS, safety mechanisms and the quality of cells used in the battery packs of different electric vehicle companies.

The company, which has been in the electric vehicle market for nine months now, has been facing many customer complaints about the software, battery performance, and service issues. From 12,691 scooters sold in April, the company's sales have been declining every month. According to the vehicle registration data, Ola sold a little over 3,351 vehicles in August, the lowest in the last six months.

The dip in sales may have also prompted Ola Electric to make changes to its online direct selling strategy. The company's founder Bhavish Aggarwal recently asked customers for feedback on whether they would like to purchase scooters online or in retail stores. The founder tweeted to say that the company would launch 200 experience centres by March, in addition to the 20 already in place.