Indian ride-hailing giant Ola cuts 180 jobs to improve profitability

Image credits: Samyukta Lakshmi/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Ola will fire Chief Executive Officer Hemant Bakshi just four months after his appointment and further cut about 180 jobs, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The move by the Indian ride-hailing startup is aimed at “improving profitability,” company founder and chairman Bhavish Agarwal told employees in an email seen by TechCrunch on Monday. Ta.

The Bangalore-headquartered startup, which counts SoftBank and Tiger Global among its backers, is undergoing a “restructuring exercise” to prepare for the “next phase of growth,” said Agarwal, pictured above. wrote in an email.

The move follows Ola suspending operations in the UK, Australia and New Zealand earlier this month. Bakshi, a former HUL executive, was appointed Ola’s chief executive officer in January this year.

Ola, which competes with Uber in India, is aiming to go public later this year, following plans for Ola Electric, a startup spun out of the ride-hailing company, to go public. Both startups were founded by Agarwal, who also founded Kultrim, an AI startup that became a unicorn in January. Ola Electric aims to raise more than $650 million in an initial public offering, according to company filings.

The full text of Agarwal’s email to staff on Monday can be read below.

Dear everyone,

In line with our vision to serve 1 billion Indians and our commitment to drive sustainable growth and improve efficiency across the organization, we are driving profitability and advancing our next phase of growth. We are proceeding with organizational restructuring aimed at preparing for the future.

We have made significant investments in AI and technology, which has given us significant cost benefits. We will continue to focus on these areas to ensure we are building cutting-edge products and services across our business lines.

These changes eliminate the need for certain roles within the company. This decision has not been taken lightly and we are committed to supporting those affected during this transition period.

Mr. Hemant plans to step down as CEO to pursue opportunities outside the company. We would like to thank Hemant for his contribution and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

I am extremely confident in the strong leadership team we have built over the past few years at Ola Consumer. They bring a lot of experience and expertise to their roles. They will work closely with me to drive technology-driven growth.

We are committed to transparency and open communication throughout this process. Our human resources team is available to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have.

Thank you for your unwavering dedication and contribution to Ola.

The best,
Babish