Ola Electric has recently laid off more than 1,000 employees as part of cost-cutting measures. The layoffs came across departments, including purchasing, customer relations, supply and charging infrastructure.
The company has been facing major challenges in the recent past due to excessive competition in the field and customer complaints owing to alleged poor service. Ola Electric is facing competition from established players such as Bajaj, Honda and TVS who have the financial muscle to tide over the market challenges.
Though the company's operations, including the Giga factory in Tamil Nadu, are functioning normally the challenges persist. Besides, the frequent layoffs made it tough for them to acquire fresh talent.
Experts point out that the 'hire and fire' policy of the company will hamper growth. According to an expert, if a company is firing employees regularly, people will be reluctant to join it because of this negative perception.
“For a new entrant like Ola Electric, efforts should have gone into improving its service in terms of quality and reach. Even if you have a good quality product and the service is poor there is a remote chance that it will do well in the market. Companies such as Bajaj and TVS have reach and their service centres can be found in every nook and corner of the country. For Ola Electric, it would be a while before its service quality and reach improves,” said B.S. Murthy, CEO of HR firm Leadership Capital.
So what does the future hold for Ola Electric? Will it continue to grow or keep laying off people on a regular basis? HR experts say that the company should realise should be cautious in its growth approach and should move ahead carefully. The company cannot merely rely on technology to succeed, but should also ensure employee-friendly HR practices.
Rather than firing the company should aim to retain talent. “Take the case of Ather, Ola's competitor. It is not facing the kind of growth challenges that Ola Electric is facing currently. This is because Ather has followed a cautious growth path. Ather received far less funding when compared to Ola Electric. There is n new innovation in electric two-wheelers as most of them have been tested by the Chinese and they are all set for the next Ten years,” added Murthy.
In the current circumstances, Ola Electric should re-strategize its HR policies which should aim at retaining talent and making them more skilled. Firings should stop so that talented individuals develop confidence in the company. New hiring could be slow and should wait until Ola Electric is back on its growth track again and customers develop confidence in its service. If done successfully, Ola Electric is likely to be back on track in the next couple of years.
The company has been facing major challenges in the recent past due to excessive competition in the field and customer complaints owing to alleged poor service. Ola Electric is facing competition from established players such as Bajaj, Honda and TVS who have the financial muscle to tide over the market challenges.
Though the company's operations, including the Giga factory in Tamil Nadu, are functioning normally the challenges persist. Besides, the frequent layoffs made it tough for them to acquire fresh talent.
Experts point out that the 'hire and fire' policy of the company will hamper growth. According to an expert, if a company is firing employees regularly, people will be reluctant to join it because of this negative perception.
“For a new entrant like Ola Electric, efforts should have gone into improving its service in terms of quality and reach. Even if you have a good quality product and the service is poor there is a remote chance that it will do well in the market. Companies such as Bajaj and TVS have reach and their service centres can be found in every nook and corner of the country. For Ola Electric, it would be a while before its service quality and reach improves,” said B.S. Murthy, CEO of HR firm Leadership Capital.
So what does the future hold for Ola Electric? Will it continue to grow or keep laying off people on a regular basis? HR experts say that the company should realise should be cautious in its growth approach and should move ahead carefully. The company cannot merely rely on technology to succeed, but should also ensure employee-friendly HR practices.
Rather than firing the company should aim to retain talent. “Take the case of Ather, Ola's competitor. It is not facing the kind of growth challenges that Ola Electric is facing currently. This is because Ather has followed a cautious growth path. Ather received far less funding when compared to Ola Electric. There is n new innovation in electric two-wheelers as most of them have been tested by the Chinese and they are all set for the next Ten years,” added Murthy.
In the current circumstances, Ola Electric should re-strategize its HR policies which should aim at retaining talent and making them more skilled. Firings should stop so that talented individuals develop confidence in the company. New hiring could be slow and should wait until Ola Electric is back on its growth track again and customers develop confidence in its service. If done successfully, Ola Electric is likely to be back on track in the next couple of years.
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