As part of a performance review, Byju’s, the Edtech firm has undertaken another round of layoffs, as it navigates a challenging operating environment.
According to sources, over 400 employees from the mentoring and product expert division, who were placed under a performance review in July, were asked to resign in this round, on 17th August.
Since 2022, the company has been laying off at least 5,000 employees. This lay off resulted in delayed appraisals, provident fund payments, and withheld performance-linked pay from employees.
BYJU’s confirmed that it had let go more of its employees in order to carry out a periodic performance review, although the company disputed this number by stating that only 100 workers were affected.
Well, this is not the first time any Edtech platform, especially Byju’s, has made it to the headlines for the wrong reasons. Several complaints were also filed against them earlier.
Also, not to mention, BYJU’s is not the only platform to be continuously laying off employees. Earlier this year, in March, Unacademy did the same. In fact, Unacademy cut off 12% of its workforce during the layoff.
According to a BYJU’s spokesperson, “As part of a periodical performance review, 100 individuals who did not meet expectations after a performance improvement plan, were let go with proper procedures. Please note, this measure is firmly rooted in performance-based considerations and is not in any way a cost-cutting endeavour.”
According to an anonymous source, “The HR gave a call and informed employees that their email addresses will be deactivated within the next two hours and asked them to download pay slips and other important documents. They were immediately asked to initiate exit on the call with the HR on the line.”
According to sources, employees had been asked to resign voluntarily and offered their monthly salaries for August and September as the definitive settlement. The staff that did not resign were immediately terminated and had been promised their pay until 17 August.
The final settlement of dues is expected within 90 days of the layoffs.
It has also come to the light that BYJU’s have given up its largest office space in Bengaluru for increasing efficiency and cut costs.
According to reports, the founders, top executives, and advisory council of Byju’s held a call with over 110 investor representatives, where updates were given on the progress of its Term Loan B negotiations and results were audited, among other issues. It assured them that this would be a defining quarter for the company, as it gets things in order after a challenging phase.
BYJU’a have been facing hurdles one after another since last year. Not only layoffs, but they also faced investigation at three of its premises in Bengaluru. Along with these, they were also facing a legal battle over loan of 1.2 billion dollars.
BYJU’s move to update investors comes at a time when India’s most valued edtech company has battled a series of conflagrations, including missing a deadline to review loan terms, delays in publishing revised figures and a protracted fundraising process.
