Ola Electric’s lay-offs rattle India’s growing EV job market

India's EV job market faces challenges with Tesla hiring in Maharashtra and Ola Electric laying off over 1,000 employees.

India’s electric vehicle (EV) job market, where active EV start-ups employ over 1,10,000 people across different parts of the talent pyramid, seems suddenly caught in a quagmire as an unexpected juxtaposition of events hit the market recently.

In mid February, Elon Musk-led EV manufacturer Tesla listed several open positions, including customer facing roles, engagement managers, delivery specialists, and service technicians in Maharashtra, between Mumbai and Pune, to kick start its India story. According to a Business India report, while the EV major announced 13 jobs on LinkedIn, there were reports elsewhere saying the company had 20 positions for India, 15 of which were in Mumbai while the other five were in Pune.

On March 3, Reuters reported that India’s top electric two-wheeler maker, Ola Electric would lay-off over 1000 employees as the company sought ‘operational efficiency and profitability’.

An email to Ola Electric by The Hindu seeking comments for this story did not yield a response.

“Many people have lost their jobs at Ola Electric. Some of us are still waiting for our final settlement even as we continue our search for other positions,’‘ an employee who was laid-off said, not wishing to be identified to avoid scuttling his chances of a better severance. All employees The Hindu spoke to for this story who were laid-off, did not want to be identified for similar reasons.

Tesla’s announcement, although it doesn’t include large scale hiring, comes as a boost to the Indian EV industry in general and job market in particular, observed industry players. However, Ola’s retrenchment plans dampened the spirit of the market and killed the enthusiasm of job aspirants too, they said.

B.S. Murthy, CEO of Leadership Capital, a third-party hiring firm focused on CXO hiring, said, “Multiple rounds of firing of employees has put Ola on the caution list of potential employees. No employee wants to join a hire and fire company. It will be difficult for Ola to hire the best talent for their tech and innovation areas if this hire and fire trend continues. Whatever the reason, the company needs to manage its people policy better.’‘