In a massive layoff spree, India’s ed tech giant Byju’s has sacked around 1,000 employees from two of its recently acquired platforms- Toppr and White Hat Jr.
The numbers, however, remain unconfirmed with stark differences between sources and the company’s official declaration. While the PTI claims that 1,100 employees were sacked, The Federal reports that as many as 2,500 have been handed the pink slip. PTI states that Byju’s group firm Toppr has laid off 1,100 staff amounting to 36 percent of its staff.
In an all-cash deal in 2020, Byju’s which caters to 150 million students around the world had acquired Whitehat Jr for $300 after which the Ed tech platform acquired Toppr for an estimated USD 150 million in July last year.
Besides its flagship products, Byju’s has under its ambit the Disney-BYJU’S Early Learn, BYJU’S Future School, Epic!, Osmo, Tynker, Toppr and WhiteHat Jr. On the contrary, even as sacked employees are hitting back at Byju’s, the hiring platforms are also replete with posts announcing vacancies.
Social media posts by employees who have been asked to leave indicate that members of all teams, barring those in the marketing and sales teams have been asked to resign. While a month’s salary has been offered to those who volunteer as a “compensation”, those unwilling to budge will not be eligible for the same.
“I am part of the Chemistry subject matter expert. My entire team has been laid off. Toppr has promised 1 month salary for those who resign and no salary for those who don’t,” a Toppr employee on condition of anonymity told the PTI.
Employees took to social media platforms to express shock. “It is more than 700 + employees. Byju’s if you cannot run a company, not if you can retain or integrate employees of the companies which you have acquired, why acquire? Your BTS is a loss proposition. No sooner or later the empire will fall. You have ruined the lives of a lot of employees who are the sole bread earner for their families. Karma will surely give you back..” wrote another employee from Toppr.
Byju’s, however, in its official statement has called this a “optimising exercise” that involves not more than 500 employees across groups.
Condemning a media report, Byjus’s spokesperson said, “We strongly deny the misinformation presented by Moneycontrol. To recalibrate our business priorities and accelerate our long-term growth, we are optimizing our teams across our group companies. This entire exercise involves less than 500 employees from across Byju’s group companies.”