We have this and more in today’s ETtech Top5 newsletter.
Also in this letter
■ Wipro offers lower-package job option amid onboarding delays
■ Twitter lays off more employees from sales team: report
■ Meta Verified: all your queries answered
Uber India president says EV deal with Tata Motors biggest for any ride-hailing platform
(From left) Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, and Prabhjeet Singh, president, Uber India & South Asia
Ride-hailing company Uber has signed an agreement with Tata Motors to induct 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs) into its fleet. Uber will deploy Tata Motors’ Xpres-T EVs by partnering with fleet operators in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.
Deliveries soon: Tata Motors will begin the EV deliveries to Uber fleet partners in a phased manner, starting this month.
Quote, unquote: “This is the largest four-wheeler EV memorandum of understanding and this will likely catalyse further acceleration of the EV ecosystem,” Prabhjeet Singh, president of Uber India and South Asia, told ET.
EVs in vogue: There is an interest in the ride-hailing industry to convert its fleet into electric vehicles. ET was the first to report about Uber’s rival Ola planning to deploy about 1,000 cars as a part of its Bengaluru EV cab pilot.
Delhi govt bans bike taxis: In a big blow to bike taxi operators in Delhi, the transport department has banned commercial bike taxi services against plying on the roads. Carrying passengers on hire or reward basis will be considered a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, that would make aggregators liable for a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
Wipro offers lower-paying roles to freshers amid onboarding delays
As freshers await onboarding, IT major Wipro has offered them certain project engineer roles with a pay of Rs 3.5 lakh per annum, much lower than their initial offer.
In detail: The Bengaluru-based company has mailed Wipro ‘Turbo’ candidates, typically offered a package of Rs 6.5 lakh per annum, the option of taking up lower-paying roles (offered to Wipro Elite candidates) as they await onboarding.
The offers were made on February 16 with a deadline to accept by February 20.
The offer has been made to all ‘Velocity’ graduates of 2022-23 batch, it added. ‘Velocity’ is a skilling and training programme undertaken by Wipro Elite candidates (Rs 3.5 LPA) to be eligible for the Turbo package (Rs 6.5 LPA).
Wipro’s response: “In the light of changing macro environment and, as a result, our business needs, we had to adjust our onboarding plans,” Wipro said in response to the mail seeking comment.
Earlier, Wipro CEO and MD Thierry Delaporte had told ET, “We will also honour all our offers… Our team is phasing out the joining dates with a plan in place.”
More job cuts at Twitter: report
Elon Musk-owned microblogging platform Twitter on Friday laid off ad sales employees in a fresh round of layoffs, news website The Information reported. Twitter had in November last year reduced staff from its sales team.
Latest round of layoff: The number of job cuts, however, is not known, as per the report which added that the social media company had about 800 sales and marketing employees as of last month.
India offices shut: Just days ago, the social media platform shut its offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and asked its staff to work from home. It continues to operate from its office in Bengaluru which houses engineers. The move is reportedly part of the company’s efforts to cut costs and get the struggling microblogging service in the black.
Also read: Layoffs in 2023: Twitter, LinkedIn among latest firms to cut jobs amid economic downturn
TWEET OF THE DAY
Meta Verified: all your queries answered
Mark Zuckerberg has announced the launch of Meta Verified, a new paid subscription service for Instagram and Facebook.
Details: Meta Verified will cost $11.99 a month for users who sign up via the browser and $14.99 for those using mobile apps.
The service is similar to one announced by Elon Musk’s Twitter, which offers a blue tick and other exclusive features to its Twitter Blue subscribers.
Exclusive features: A verified badge, more protection from impersonation with proactive account monitoring for impersonators who might target people with growing online audiences.
Subscribers will get increased visibility and reach with prominence in some areas of the platform– like search, comments and recommendations.
Eligibility: To be eligible, accounts must meet minimum activity requirements, such as prior posting history, and be at least 18 years old.
Businesses are not eligible to apply for Meta Verified at this time. However, the platform has not ruled out their inclusion in future.
BharatPe appoints Aparna Kuppuswamy as chief risk officer
BharatPe Group on Monday announced the appointment of Aparna Kuppuswamy as its chief risk officer.
Responsibilities: Kuppuswamy will lead the risk portfolio across the BharatPe Group of companies, including the merchant and consumer businesses.
She will work closely with CFO and interim CEO, Nalin Negi, to further build a robust lending vertical at the firm, the company said in a statement.
Previous hires: The fintech firm had in January announced three key appointments. Ambuj Bhalla was named chief information security officer, Rahul Bhatia as head of internal audit, and Ravinder Oberoi as head of compliance.
Earlier in January, BharatPe’s chief executive Suhail Sameer stepped down but continues to remain a strategic advisor to the company.
The appointments come at a time when the firm has filed lawsuits against its cofounder Ashneer Grover and former head of controls Madhuri Jain Grover for alleged embezzlement of funds to the tune of Rs 81.28 crore.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Megha Mishra in Mumbai and Erick Massey in New Delhi. Graphics and illustrations by Rahul Awasthi.
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