New Delhi: Contrary to reports, ride-hailing giants and competitors, Ola and Uber are not merging. CEO Bhavish Agrawal has refuted reports of a possible merger with Uber, India Today reported.
A report stated that Agrawal met with the top executives of Uber in San Francisco to discuss a possible merger with Uber in India. The report also mentions that the two companies had discussed the possibilities of a merger before as well, but the deal did not materialise. The report highlighted that both companies have witnessed a slump in revenue because of which they are considering a merger.
Taking to Twitter, Agrawal said, “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.”
Uber too has denied being in merger talks with Ola. The US-based car-hailing giant said, “That report is inaccurate. We are not, nor have we been, in merger talks with Ola,” Uber said in a statement, India Today reported.
As per reports, Ola and Uber have spent billions on incentives and discounts for customers but, despite all that, they have not witnessed a meteoric rise in revenue. Uber sold its food delivery business Uber Eats to Zomato in 2020 and Ola shut its grocery delivery business. Ola has now invested in the electric mobility business.
Ola is reportedly in the process of laying off 1000 of its employees, but at the same time, the company is aggressively hiring for its EV business. An ET report revealed that Ola is deliberately delaying the appraisal process for employees it wants to fire. However, Ola is looking to hire people for its EV business, the report added.
