Ola Cabs CEO Hemant Bakshi quits, company plans to lay off 10% staff as part of restructuring exercise

Ola Cabs has plans for a restructuring ahead of proposed IPO, an excercise that may impact up to 10 percent of the workforce.

Hemant Bakshi, the CEO of Ola Cabs, the ride-hailing arm of ANI Technologies, has quit barely four months into the job even as the firm plans to undertake a restructuring exercise that will affect at least 10 percent of the staff, sources told Moneycontrol.

Bakshi, whose resignation comes into effect immediately, had joined the ride-hailing firm in January to take care of day-to-day operations.

"We have made substantial investments in the areas of AI & Technology which has led to significant cost advantages...certain roles within the company will get redundant" wrote Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and managing director of Ola Cabs in an internal email to employees that Moneycontrol has seen.

"Ola Cabs’ CEO Hemant Bakshi would be moving out of Ola to pursue interests and opportunities outside of the company... (Bhavesh) Aggarwal will be looking after day-to-day operations and there will be a new appointment soon," a source told Moneycontrol.

The announcement comes just a few weeks after Ola Cabs initiated preliminary discussions with investment banks for an IPO.

Moneycontrol was the first to report on April 19 that the firm is evaluating the launch of an initial public offer (IPO).

The firm has also made a slew of new appointments in the last one month including roping in Kartik Gupta as the CFO and Sidharth Shakdher as the CBO.

The firm’s sister company, Ola Electric, has filed its draft red herring prospectus with the market regulator in December to raise around Rs 7,250 crores via an IPO, the first attempt at public listing by an Indian electric vehicle firm.

Founded in 2010, Ola Cabs got immediate backing from the likes of SoftBank and Tiger Global.

Recently, Ola Cabs shut down its international operations in some countries amid rising competition, the governments' fleet electrification targets, and the firm's overall shift towards the Indian market.

Ola's Mobility business in FY23 reported a revenue of Rs 2,135 crore, up nearly 58 percent, and for the first time, the firm reported a positive EBITDA of Rs 250 crore after reporting Rs 66 crore of EBITDA loss in FY22.

ANI Technologies, the parent entity of Ola Fleet, Ola Financial Services and Ola Stores, reported a consolidated revenue of Rs 2,799 crore, up nearly 42 percent YoY despite a reduction in revenue from Ola Fleet and Ola Financial Service.