Ola and Uber Technologies are discussing a potential merger. According to ET's latest news report, CEO Ola Bhavish Aggarwal recently hosted a meeting with top Uber executives in San Francisco, United States. The report did not reveal any financial details of a potential deal. Arguably, the potential merger was more likely to revolve around the taxi aggregator business in India, as both companies could share their fleet in the Indian market. However, Aggarwal took to Twitter to deny the news, calling it "absolute rubbish". "Absolute rubbish. We are making huge profits and growing well. If any other companies want to get out of India, they are welcome! We will never merge," Aggarwal tweeted.
Earlier this month, Ola was reported to have laid off nearly 500 employees based on performance in various departments and restricted its operations due to ongoing funding issues. Ola has postponed plans to go public to further expand abroad. The company also recently closed its car business: Ola Cars, which was about a year old but not generating much revenue or business. "Ola has reassessed its priorities and decided to close Ola Dash, its fast-track business. Ola will also refocus its Ola Cars business to focus more on enhancing Ola Electric's market entry strategy," the company said in a statement.
Ola's highly promoted electric two-wheeler business is facing a government investigation into the battery fires. Major electric vehicle fires could also affect Ola's goal of selling 1 crore of scooters a year. Ola currently has 1,100 employees and they compete directly with Uber. The company has already shut down Ola Cafe, food panda, Ola Foods and Ola Dash
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