Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric has laid off 5% of its workforce as part of an ongoing “structural transformation”. The layoffs are expected to affect 620 jobs, as the electric vehicle maker had about 12,396 employees as of last year.

“The company is doubling down on speed and discipline by increasing the automation of its front-end operations. As part of this ongoing structural transformation, approximately 5% of the workforce will be affected,” the company said in a statement.

electric wave said it remains focused on delivering a stronger customer experience and building a leaner organization positioned for long-term profitable growth. The layoffs come as the electric vehicle maker has seen a steady decline in market share over the past three months, with retail sales remaining below the 10,000-unit mark for the third consecutive month in January.

According to VAHAN data, Ola Electric saw registrations of 7,221 units as of January 31, 2026. Rival Ather Energy witnessed EV registrations of 20,786 units during the same period, with nearly three times more sales than Ola. Market leader TVS Motor Company sold 33,286 electric scooters in January. Bajaj Auto, the maker of the Chetak electric scooter, was second with 24,211 electric vehicle registrations. Hero MotoCorp recorded 12,608 electric vehicle registrations in January.

When Ola Electric loses charge, rival Ather Energy moves forward. Ola’s sales slump and Ather’s rise in India’s electric two-wheeler race is a case study of two IITian founders choosing different paths to build their companies. While Aggarwal spread himself too thin by announcing ambitions to enter chip manufacturing, artificial intelligence, the cloud, cell manufacturing and battery energy storage systems, Mehta took a more focused and frugal approach.

Ola’s attrition rate is also among the highest in the industry. In FY25, it witnessed an employee attrition rate of 54% compared to 44% in FY24. At the senior level, the company has seen high-profile exits. Its chief financial officer, Harish Abichandani, resigned with effect from January 19, 2026. The company’s chief technology and product officer and chief marketing officer resigned last year.

Some of these positions still remain vacant. The employee attrition rate at Ather Energy was 12.5% ​​in FY25, compared to 18.4% in FY24.