BluSmart Employees’ March Salary Still Pending Amid Cash Crunch

Nearly 500 employees of BluSmart, the all-electric cab platform, are still awaiting clarity on their March salaries, as the company has reportedly not made any disbursements yet, the Economic Times reported.

This comes after earlier this month, BluSmart co-founder Anmol Singh Jaggi in an email, informed the employees that all unpaid dues will be cleared by the end of April, the Morning Context reported.

As BluSmart transitions to a fleet partner for Uber, it may reportedly lay off staff who were part of its now-shuttered ride-hailing business.

Salary Delay

BluSmart had notified its employees of a delay in disbursing March salaries due to ongoing cash flow challenges. In an email to employees, co-founder Anmol Singh Jaggi assured them that all pending payments would be cleared by the end of April.

“Due to current cash flow constraints, there will be a short delay in processing salaries. However, we want to assure you that all dues will be cleared within the month of April itself,” Jaggi stated in the email. “To ensure fairness and sensitivity to those who may be more impacted, we will be releasing salaries in phases—starting from the lowest pay grades and moving upwards.”

The latest setback marks a critical point in BluSmart's worsening financial crisis. The company is grappling with mounting operational losses, unsuccessful expansion efforts, and the resignation of key executives, prompting a desperate push to generate cash. Additionally, BluSmart has reportedly started removing its branding from vehicles at its Bengaluru-based Sarjapur hub, preparing to transition them to Uber's network.

BluSmart Woes

A few weeks ago, Refex Industries terminated its agreement to acquire 2,997 electric vehicles from Gensol Engineering, as reported by Inc42. In January, Gensol's EV financing arm, Gensol EV Lease Pvt Ltd, had agreed to sell these 2,997 EV cars, initially leased to BluSmart, to Refex's subsidiary, Refex Green Mobility Limited (RGML).

Additionally, BluSmart reportedly shut down its Dubai operations in mid-March and abandoned plans to expand services in Saudi Arabia.

BluSmart has also faced a significant executive exodus since March this year. CEO Anirudh Arun, CFO Tushar Garg, CTO Rishabh Sood, and Vice President Priya Chakravarthy have all departed. Nandan Sharma, previously a vice president, has been appointed as the new CEO.