Ola lays off over 200 employees from cabs division, CEO quits just three months after taking charge

Hemant Bakshi, the chief executive officer of Ola Cabs, is stepping down just three months after his appointment was publicly announced, with founder Bhavish Aggarwal reassuming control of the company

The departure of Bakshi coincides with a restructuring plan that will result in a reduction of at least 10 per cent in the workforce, affecting approximately 200 employees, as per a report by the Economic Times.

Although Bakshi joined Ola Cabs from Unilever in September 2023, the new appointment was announced publicly only in January this year.

With Bakshi’s departure, Aggarwal will resume oversight of day-to-day operations, while the timing for filling Bakshi’s position remains unclear, according to the sources. Officially, Aggarwal retains his roles as chairman and managing director of Ola Cabs.

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Bakshi’s tenure at Ola Cabs was part of Aggarwal’s strategy of bringing in external talent for key positions, with other notable hires including chief financial officer Kartik Gupta from Procter & Gamble and chief business officer Sidharth Shakdher from Disney+ Hotstar.

The leadership change and restructuring at Ola Cabs come amid efforts to enhance profitability, with potential plans to file draft listing papers within the next three months. Additionally, the company is set to exit its international markets in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand by the end of the current month.

Aggarwal notified employees of Bakshi’s exit and the restructuring via email, while highlighting the company’s commitment to supporting affected employees during the transition. Bakshi’s departure is attributed to his pursuit of opportunities outside the company, as stated in Aggarwal’s email.

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In January, Bakshi announced that ANI Technologies, Ola Cabs’ parent company, achieved profitability on an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) basis for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023.

Ola’s standalone ride-hailing business reported an EBITDA of Rs 250 crore in FY23, a significant improvement from the EBITDA-level loss of Rs 66 crore in the previous fiscal year. Revenue also experienced robust growth, increasing by 58 per cent to Rs 2,135 crore.

While Ola’s main competitor, Uber, reported a 54 per cent surge in operating revenue to Rs 2,666 crore during the same period, its ride-hailing revenue amounted to Rs 678 crore. However, Uber incurred a wider loss of Rs 311 crore in FY23 compared to the previous year’s Rs 197 crore loss.

The developments at Ola Cabs coincide with activities within the broader Ola ecosystem, including Ola Electric’s filing of draft papers for an initial public offering with SEBI in December.

Ola Electric aims to raise up to Rs 5,500 crore through a fresh issue of shares, alongside an offer-for-sale component of 95.2 million shares. Aggarwal’s third venture, artificial intelligence company Krutrim AI, secured $50 million in funding at a valuation of $1 billion in January.