Ola is in the midst of firing close to 1,000 employees while simultaneously ramping up hiring for its electric mobility business.
The number of employees laid off was estimated at around 400-500 but sources said the final figure could touch about 1,000.
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Withholding appraisal
The company had started handing out pink slips as reported on July 6.
It also had not formalized annual appraisals for many of its employees.
An Ola employee revealed that the company is delaying the appraisal process of several employees who the company wants to fire to make them resign.
Those targeted for layoffs have been asked to resign voluntarily.
Aggressive hiring
The entire restructuring exercise is expected to continue for a few weeks more.
It will now shift focus to its electric mobility business, where it is hiring “aggressively”, according to executives involved in the recruitment process.
Hiring is taking place across verticals including mobility, hyperlocal, fintech, and its used cars businesses.
Repurposing process, not cost-cutting
It appears that instead of a cost-cutting exercise, Ola is engaged in a repurposing process by bringing in more people than it is laying off.
Another source said that for every person it sacked, Ola was onboarding four people.
It intends to hire about 800 people for cars alone and additionally for cell development.
Indigenous cell development
The company said on July 18 that it was investing about $500 million in the upcoming cell battery cell research and development facility in Bengaluru.
It would become operational in August, and would employ over 500 engineers and PhD holders.
The company said it had developed India’s first indigenously developed lithium-ion battery cell, called 2170.
Race to boost sales
Meanwhile, there is an internal competition going on in which top executives have been assigned to different regions to boost sales.
It is up to these guys to work on improving sales numbers of the company’s flagship Ola S1 Pro electric scooter.
Sales plunged after a string of fire incidents and multiple quality control problems.
Who and where?
Co-founder and chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal is personally overseeing sales operations in South India.
Chief marketing officer Anshul Khandelwal is looking after the northern region.
Former CEO of Ola Dash, Vinay Bhopatkar, is in charge of the west.
Product head Suvonil Chatterjee has been allocated to the eastern region.
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