Ola Electric lays off 5% staff as EV sales stay below 10,000 units for 3rd consecutive month – BusinessToday

Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric has laid off 5% of its workforce as a part of an ongoing “structural transformation”. The layoffs are anticipated to have an effect on 620 jobs as the electrical automobile maker had round 12,396 staff till final 12 months.

“The corporate is doubling down on velocity and self-discipline by means of elevated automation throughout its frontend operations. As a part of this ongoing structural transformation, roughly 5% of the workforce will probably be impacted,” the corporate mentioned in a press release.

Ola Electric mentioned it stays targeted on delivering a stronger buyer expertise and constructing a leaner organisation positioned for lengthy-time period, worthwhile progress. The layoffs come as the EV maker has seen a constant decline in market share over the previous three months, with retail sales staying below the 10,000 units mark for the third consecutive month in January.

In line with VAHAN information, Ola Electric recorded registrations of seven,221 units as of January 31, 2026. Rival Ather Power witnessed EV registrations of 20,786 units throughout the identical interval, notching practically 3 times extra sales than Ola. Market chief TVS Motor Firm bought 33,286 electrical scooters in January. Bajaj Auto, the maker of the Chetak electrical scooter, got here in second with 24,211 EV registrations. Hero MotoCorp clocked 12,608 EV registrations in January.

As Ola Electric loses cost, rival Ather Power is racing forward. Ola’s sales decline and Ather’s rise in India’s electrical two-wheeler race is a case examine on two IITian founders selecting totally different paths to construct their corporations. Whereas Aggarwal unfold himself too skinny by saying ambitions to enter chipmaking, synthetic intelligence, Cloud, cell manufacturing and battery vitality storage programs, Mehta took a extra targeted and frugal strategy. 

Ola’s attrition fee can be among the many highest within the trade. In FY25, it witnessed an worker attrition fee of 54% in contrast with 44% in FY24. On the senior stage, the corporate has seen excessive-profile exits. Its chief monetary officer, Harish Abichandani, resigned with impact from January 19, 2026. The corporate’s chief expertise and product officer and chief advertising and marketing officer stop final 12 months. 

A few of these positions nonetheless stay vacant. Worker attrition fee at Ather Power was 12.5% in FY25 as towards 18.4% in FY24.