'Absolute rubbish': Bhavish Aggarwal on Uber's merger with Ola

Ola chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal has rubbished media reports of a possible merger with Uber.

On Friday (July 29), Aggarwal tweeted that this talk of reports of a merger with the American ride-hailing firm was “absolute rubbish” and that Ola is “very profitable and growing well”.

He also added that if some other companies want to exit their business from India, they were welcome. But Ola would never merge with Uber.

Absolute rubbish. We’re very profitable and growing well. If some other companies want to exit their business from India they are welcome to! We will never merge. https://t.co/X3wC9HDrnr

— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) July 29, 2022

Uber also completely denied news report on the merger talks. Uber said in a statement that the report is “inaccurate” and that they were not, nor have been in merger talks with Ola.

Also read: Ola to lay off 1,000 employees in massive restructuring move

As urban mobility picks up after a two-year jolt from the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s two dominant ride hailing platforms – Ola and Uber, who had been battling with each other in a highly competitive market, are facing the heat from a bunch of new players. The market seems poised for a disruption even as Ola and Uber have poured in billions in terms of incentives and discounts to passengers.

Just last month, Ola closed its used-cars retail Ola Cars, eight months after it launched the business. The company issued a statement at that time that Ola has reassessed its priorities. The Ola Cars infrastructure, technology and capabilities was to be repurposed towards growing their Ola Electric sales and service network. The company has now invested billions of dollars in its electric vehicle venture, Ola Electric Mobility.

Also read: Amid dip in sales, Ola Electric suspends production at TN plant

Ola Electric, however, had to recall 1,441 units of its electric two-wheelers in the wake of an incident of a vehicle catching fire. The company, which wants to build electric cars for the masses, is planning to develop an electric car by the end of 2023 or early 2024.

Earlier this month, Ola has reportedly cut jobs and stopped the performance appraisal of employees for this year, said media reports. Nearly 500 employees have been laid off on a performance basis across various departments and limited their operations because of funding issues.

Earlier, Ola’s delayed initial public offering, or IPO, is also likely to happen this year or in early 2023. Meanwhile, the shared mobility majors also shut down their fledgling grocery business.