Prior to the layoffs, the Bengaluru-based start-up told its employees that it would skip increments and restrict the hiring process for calendar year 2023
The layoffs have come as a one-time restructuring exercise to eliminate any redundancy in roles and responsibilities and have impacted employees across departments like tech, product, sales, and operations
Chasing profitability, the start-up has also shut down verticals including infotainment service Ola Play, used-cars platform Ola Cars, and quick-commerce vertical Ola Dash
While many CEOs who went on a guilt trip after announcing retrenchments assured assistance to their sacked employees, it remains questionable how serious are they about keeping their promise
Onboarding a footballing legend like Lionel Messi while laying off people raises questions on whether the edtech brand is investing more in fanboy moments than running a profitable enterprise
The development comes a week later after Ola onboarded new members across key positions for its electric vehicle business, Ola Electric, to unify operations
