Edtech Giant Byju's Lays Off Nearly 1,000 Employees Across Verticals

Byju’s has handed the pink slip to 900-1,000 employees in a fresh round of layoffs, according to media reports, although sources in the company said the move was part of the “optimisation” strategy that the edtech giant had announced last year that included sacking 2,500 workers.

The latest job cuts have cut across verticals such as product, content, media and technology teams, according to the people familiar with the matter. The Bengaluru-based firm has also reportedly sacked top officials including ones drawing annual salaries of Rs 1 crore and above.

The move by India’s most valuable start-up comes amid a funding winter and steep losses. Byju’s, valued at $22 billion, is targeting to be profitable by March this year.

According to the company sources, the layoffs are not new but part of the “optimisation” strategy involving laying off 2,500, or 5 per cent, of its employees.

To avoid redundancies and duplication of roles, and by leveraging technology better, around 5 per cent of Byju’s 50,000-strong workforce is expected to be laid off across product, content, media, and technology teams in a phased manner, according to the sources.

The company declined to comment.

Last year, Byju’s laid off about 600 employees at its group companies — WhiteHat Jr and Toppr. It said it was a move to drive cost efficiency.

Under the optimisation plan, the company said it looks to target profitability and bring the K10 subsidiaries — Meritnation, TutorVista, Scholar, and HashLearn — under the India business unit. Aakash and Great Learning, which it had acquired, would function separately.

Byju’s is also realigning marketing spending to enhance its global footprint, and has made various acquisitions in the US.

However, it posted losses of Rs 4,588 crore in FY21, 19 times more than the preceding year, according to the latest available financial report. It earned Rs 2,428 crore in revenue in FY21.

A growing number of edtech firms are laying off employees in a bid to conserve cash and focus on profitability. Edtech unicorn Vedantu recently laid off 385 employees, nearly 11.6 per cent of its workforce, according to sources. The Bengaluru-based firm has sacked over 1,100 employees (full-time and contractual) so far.

In November last year, Unacademy carried out a round of job cuts that affected 350 employees or 10 per cent of its workforce.