Ola is to cut 1,400 jobs of its workforce, becoming the latest company to suffer as the coronavirus pandemic eats into country’s gig economy.
Announcing the cuts in an email to employees, CEO Bhavnish Aggarwal made it clear that the prognosis ahead for the business is “very unclear and uncertain” and the impact of this crisis is “definitely going to be long-drawn for us”.
“The fallout of the virus has been very tough for our industry in particular. Our revenue has come down 95 per cent over the past 2 months. Most importantly, this crisis has affected the livelihoods of millions of our drivers and their families across India and our international geographies,” he said.
Ola has decided to downsize and “let go” of 1,400 employees, Aggarwal added.
The ride-sharing company joins string of new-economy names making deep cuts. On Monday, the rival ride-sharing company Uber said it would cut additional 3,000 jobs.
Uber had already cut 3,700 of its workforce earlier this month due to the lockdown caused by Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this week, food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy sacked over 600 and 1,100 employees respectively.
The company offered no further detail on extent to which pandemic has hit its business, other than to reiterate that journeys were down significantly.