Embattled edtech Byju's is set to lay off at least another 500 employees as the former unicorn continues to test turbulent times amid a prolonged cash crunch and a showdown with its own investors.
Employees impacted will be largely in the sales and marketing functions and it will impact its tuition centres as well as K–10 departments, according to people familiar with the development who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A Byju's spokesperson confirmed the development but declined to share specifics on the people impacted.
"We are in the final stages of a business restructuring exercise announced in October 2023 to simplify operating structures, reduce the cost base, and better cash flow management."
"We are going through an extraordinary situation in the company because of the ongoing litigation with four foreign investors, where every employee and the ecosystem are going through tremendous stress, given the present circumstances," the statement added.
"We regret the unfortunate situation the company has been forced into. Still, it is something that we will put behind us soon, with majority investor support for the $200 million rights issue. We request everyone's understanding of the individual and collective stress on the system, which might be prompting some unforeseen situations for the departing employees," the spokesperson said.
The four investors being referred to are Prosus, Peak XV Partners, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative and General Atlantic, who have filed an insolvency petition against Byju's and moved to reconstitute the board and oust eponymous founder Byju Raveendran.
In September 2023, NDTV Profit had reported that Byju's will look to drive costs further down by likely cutting jobs as it moves to a more streamlined business under a new leader. With today's layoffs, the company has already laid off about 4,100 employees since its troubles began about 18 months ago.
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