BYJU'S Says 140 Layoffs In Kerala Are Revoked. This Is Why

BYJU'S revokes its decision to lay off 140 employees and shut its operations in Thiruvananthapuram after meeting Kerala Chief Minister on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Edtech giant said, "following a detailed discussion between the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri P Vijayan and Byju Raveendran, Founder of BYJU'S, we have decided to continue operations of our TVM (Thiruvananthapuram) product development centre." 

"As a result, our 140 associates will continue to operate from this centre. Byju Raveendran, who is from Kerala, reiterates his commitment to the state and the leadership team of BYJU'S, under his guidance, will pursue a growth strategy in the state," added BYJU'S statement.

That comes a week after the laid-off BYJU's employees in the Thiruvananthapuram office met Kerala Labor Minister V Sivankutty and asked him to get involved in the situation. 

Those dejected employees had said BYJU's decided to close its Technopark office without giving them a prior warning and added that the management was coercive in asking for resignations from its staff.

Last week, the Edtech firm laid off employees from its media content division in Kerala, days after it announced a plan to improve profitability by March next year by cutting its workforce by 5 per cent to lower costs.

Those distressed employees met General Education and Labour Minister for Kerala, V Sivankutty, who promised to consider and look into the situation seriously.

"At technopark, Thiruvananthapuram Employees of BYJU'S app came and met me with the office bearers of IT employees welfare organisation Echo of Technopark. Employees have many complaints, including job losses. The Labor Department will conduct a serious inspection in this matter," said the Minister.

Separately, Byju Raveendran apologised to his employees for the recent layoffs in an email. 

The "I am sorry" email from him came days after the company announced cutting its workforce of 50,000 by five per cent, of 2,500, by March next year to lower costs.

In the email to staff members, Mr Raveendran said that BYJU's had been forced to concentrate on sustainability and capital-efficient growth due to unfavourable macroeconomic variables. 

But he added that re-hiring the laid-off employees will be the company's number one priority as it restructures.