Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has reportedly sent a no-holds-barred email to employees, criticizing them for poor attendance.

The strongly worded message, which has since gone viral, accuses employees of “ditching the company” and shows no patience for excuses. BT has not been able to independently verify the letter.

In the purported email, Aggarwal expressed frustration at the shockingly low attendance rates, writing, “I imagine everyone has the basic respect not to screw up the company or even come to work. Even it’s all disrespectful to colleagues who really work hard and contribute.”

“Starting Monday, a stricter attendance expectation will begin. And for those of you who have abused your freedom thus far, HR will have a conversation with you. Come to work, do a good job, and feel included of Ola’s mission”.

He stressed that the company has no work-from-home policy except in genuine cases, adding that serial offenders would be targeted by HR.

The CEO also dismissed excuses about the company’s facial recognition system, commenting: “We do not insult basic intelligence.” Aggarwal concluded the email by calling on employees to actively contribute to Ola’s mission and take pride in their work.

This tough stance comes against the backdrop of Ola’s ongoing cost-cutting measures, including laying off 500 employees recently. Aggarwal’s focus on operational efficiency was evident during a recent earnings call, where he highlighted reductions in operating expenses and outlined plans to keep costs flat or down while increasing revenue.

Ola Electric is on an aggressive expansion spree, and plans to scale its store network from 800 to 4,000 by December 2024. The company is also launching a ‘network partner programme’, aiming to onboard 10,000 partners by 2025 to improve sales and service touchpoints everywhere. smaller towns and cities.