Ola cuts jobs, holds performance appraisals

Ola has started axing jobs and deferring salary appraisals for the year as the mobility platform drags the group’s other businesses and the global funding environment tightens, reported Economic Times.

The cab aggregator firm has started laying off workers across functions but the quantum of job cuts remains unconfirmed as of now; however, earlier news reports suggest 400-500 are likely to be retrenched from the workforce. This is the second time that Bhavish Aggarwal-led company is cutting jobs. Other startups have also reportedly cut jobs in the wake of macroeconomic instability and global liquidity conditions.

Ola’s HR officer Balachandar in a message to employees on Slack wrote, “Team — We understand the anxiousness around Driven (Ola's appraisal programme). As you would know by now, we are working on the restructuring of some of our businesses and will follow it up with Driven”, according to ET.

The move comes days after the company decided to shut down its used vehicle business Ola Cars and Ola Dash—the 10-minute grocery delivery service launched by the mobility platform. The company has repurposed its infrastructure, technology and capabilities of Ola Cars toward expanding Ola Electric sales and service network. The company closed its used car business Ola Cars eight months after its launch as it concentrated on its electric two-wheeler and car verticals. So far, Ola has folded Ola Cafe, Food Panda, Ola Foods, and Ola Dash.