Crisis-hit BluSmart’s 500 staffers await clarity on their salary dues

As the cash crisis at BluSmart continues, nearly 500 employees at the all-electric cab service provider are still awaiting clarity on their salary dues. People in the know said the company has yet to clear the salaries for March.

BluSmart founder Anmol Singh Jaggi had written to employees earlier this month that the March salaries would get cleared by the end of April, but sources said there hasn't been any update on this.

“There is no fresh update on the salary payments from the management … even our provident fund amount for March hasn’t been deposited with the EPFO,” a Gurgaon-based employee said on the condition of anonymity. “We’ve approached the human resources department for a timeline on our pay...and to understand whether we'll be paid for the month of April or not,” the employee said, adding that people in the company have already started looking for jobs.


As BluSmart moves to becoming a fleet operator for its rival Uber, it could lay off a portion of its workforce that was directly engaged with its now wound-up ride-hailing operations.

Queries sent to BluSmart and Jaggi did not elicit a response.

On April 16, BluSmart suspended its ride-hailing operation. A day later, in an email to its customers, the company said it would initiate a refund of their balance amount on the BluSmart app within 90 days if it did not resume the services by then.

Several senior BluSmart executives are on the lookout for new jobs, approaching recruitment services, other cab-hailing service providers as well as quick commerce and food delivery platforms, ET reported on April 18.

A clutch of BluSmart’s top executives including CEO-fleets Anirudh Arun, chief technology officer Rishab Sood and chief business officer Tushar Garg quit the firm in March.

The delay in employee salaries is one of the problems that BluSmart’s management is facing as a result of its cash crisis, after several attempts to raise capital failed. The company launched a fundraising attempt last year with a proposal that its existing investors would inject around $50 million, but it did not go through.

Moreover, as ET reported Tuesday, BluSmart’s discussions with private equity firm Eversource Capital for a slump sale are unlikely to proceed in the aftermath of Sebi’s action against Gensol Engineering, which is promoted by Jaggi and his brother Puneet Singh Jaggi.

Among other things, Sebi has barred the brothers from accessing the capital markets for alleged fund diversion from Gensol Engineering.

Lenders to BluSmart are also cranking up the pressure on the firm for repayment of their money. On Monday, ET reported that investors in BluSmart’s bonds are planning to invoke the ‘Event of Default’ provision and seek immediate repayment of their money.