N Balachandar, Senior Vice President and Group Chief People Officer at Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Group, has resigned from his position.
This development comes amidst a series of senior-level exits at the company over the past year.
Career at Ola Group and Reasons for Resignation
Balachandar joined Ola Electric as Chief Human Resources Officer in May 2021 and was later promoted to a group-level role later that year.
He was responsible for overseeing HR functions for Ola Cabs (now Ola Consumer), Ola Electric, and AI startup Krutrim.
His tenure saw significant contributions to HR strategies and cultural transformation of these entities.
Sources indicate that Balachandar had been in discussions with Bhavish Aggarwal for several months regarding his resignation.
He reportedly decided to step down to start his own management consultancy firm.
Another source mentioned that Balachandar was nearing retirement and chose not to extend his tenure with the firm.
Recent Senior-Level Exits at Ola Group
Balachandar’s resignation is part of a broader trend of senior-level departures at Ola Group this year.
In October, Ola Consumer Chief Business Officer Siddharth Shakdher resigned within nine months of joining and moved to fintech platform Paytm.
Ola Electric Vice President and Head of Sales Mahesh Alanthat also resigned in the same month to join Samsung Mobile.
Chief Financial Officer Kartik Gupta exited in May, and the CEO of the mobility business Hemant Bakshi stepped down earlier this year.
Layoffs and Market Challenges
In 2024, Ola Electric laid off 300-400 people across departments, primarily in manufacturing and supply-chain management roles.
The company cited a decline in market share, increased customer complaints, and a fall in its stock price as reasons for the layoffs.
Ola Electric, which went public in August this year, reported a high employee attrition rate of 44.25% in FY24.
Ola has been losing ground to younger rivals such as WestBridge-backed Rapido and Google-backed Namma Yatri in the ride-hailing space.
The company also exited its international markets in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK earlier this year.
Ola Electric faces intense competition from legacy automobile manufacturers like Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor in the electric two-wheeler space.
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