Ola Electric shares crash 5% to 52-week low amid reports of over 1,000 job cuts by company

Shares of two-wheeler electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Ola Electric crashed 5% to a fresh 52-week low on Monday, March 3, amid reports that Bhavish Aggarwal-led company is looking to lay off over a thousand employees and contract workers to contain losses.

According to a Bloomberg report today, the cuts at the SoftBank Group-backed firm span multiple departments, including procurement, fulfillment, customer relations and charging infrastructure.

This would be the second round of job cuts in under five months by Ola Eletric, which reportedly laid off around 500 employees last November.

The latest round of layoffs at Ola affects more than a quarter of its 4,000 employees as of March 2024, though it also includes contract workers who aren't included in the company’s official employee count, according to the report.

Ola is also letting go of front-end sales, service, and warehouse staff at its showrooms and service centers as part of a cost-cutting effort, with the company reworking its logistics and delivery strategy, according to a Bloomberg report.

Sales below monthly target

The EV maker informed exchanges on Friday that it sold more than 25,000 units in February, with a market share of over 28%. However, this fell short of the 50,000-unit monthly target Aggarwal had pegged in an earnings call last month for it to turn EBITDA breakeven.

On February 19, Ola had said, “Due to ongoing negotiations and optimisation of the registration process, our registration numbers for the month of February 2025 (on VAHAN portal) will be temporarily impacted. Our sales continue to be strong through February 2025, and the dip in registration will be streamlined in the next few weeks.”

Ola shares face sharp selloff

Ola Electric shares tanked 5.36% to ₹53.71 apiece, also its 52-week low. The EV stock, which was listed in August last year, is trading 29% below its IPO price of ₹76 apiece. Meanwhile, from its all-time high of ₹157.53, the stock has cracked by 66%.

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