Hours after reports of merger with Uber, Indian cab aggregator Ola's Chief Executive (CEO) Bhavish Aggarwal on Friday rejected the claims and termed it to be "absolute rubbish". It was reported earlier in the day that Ola and US-based Uber Technologies are considering a potentital merger after both companies reportedly facing losses after spending billions in the much competitive Indian market.
Taking to Twitter Aggarwal even pointed out that his firm profitable and growing well, adding that Ola will 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," Aggarwal tweeted.
A report in The Economic Times claimed that Aggarwal met top Uber officials in San Francisco to discuss the merger further. However, financial details of the merger was not disclosed in the report.
Even Uber rejected the claims of merger. "That report is inaccurate. We are not, nor have we been, in merger talks with Ola," news agency Reuters quoted Uber as saying in a statement.
Meanwhile, ANI Technologies, the parent company of homegrown ride-hailing firm Ola, reported its first operating profit of Rs 90 crore in FY21 on a standalone basis compared to a loss of Rs 610.18 crore the previous fiscal year.
The profit was reported despite a 65% fall in revenues to Rs 689.61 crore due to lockdowns caused by COVID–19 last year. The majority of the company's consolidated revenue came from its core business of ride-hailing, while, ANI Technologies offers banking services and sold its food delivery business to Zomato.
The company was planning to raise over $1 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) but the volatility in the stock markets has dampened the company’s plan for IPO in the immediate future.
Another report by IANS even claimed that Ola is most likely to lay off around 1,000 employees to ramp up its electric vehicle business in the country. However, sources close to the company, informed that these layoffs may impact less than 500 employees and not 1,000, and "are a result of restructuring in the Cars and Dash businesses".
Aggarwal has not responded to the lay off claims. Reports also claimed that the ride-hailing platform is planning to lay off employees to cut costs amid a challenging funding environment and a delay in listing plans.
Senior executives at the SoftBank-backed company were reportedly tasked with identifying team members who can be asked to leave based on performance, IANS reported. Recently, the company had shut down its used vehicle business Ola Cars, as well as its quick-commerce business, Ola Dash.
The company is also facing flak over faulty batteries and fire incidents after cases of electric two-wheelers catching fire recently occurred across the country, prompting companies to recall their vehicles.