Balesh’s exit signals not all is well with Voda-Idea merger

Balesh Sharma’s exit from Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) is an indication of the troubles being faced by the telecom company not just financially but also cultural clashes and turf wars between the employees of the two merged entities.

According to several current executives working in the company, who spoke to BusinessLine on conditions of anonymity, there are serious issues with the merger between Vodafone’s India operations and Aditya Birla Group’s Idea Cellular. “Operationally, the organisation has split into two camps at several levels. Some of the senior executives who came from erstwhile Idea Cellular do not see eye to eye with executives who have brought in from Vodafone India,” said an executive who has been with Idea Cellular for over a decade.