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A week after appointing Arjun Mohan as the new CEO of its Indian operations, Byju's is reportedly preparing to cut 4,000-5,000 jobs, indicating a large number of layoffs may be imminent.
According to a TechCrunch report, Byju's might implement such a massive round of layoffs due to business restructuring, which seems crucial for the company, given the financial hurdles it is facing. The report further added that Byju's is planning to remove redundant roles spanning both its offline and online ventures, as well as many jobs in the marketing department.
It's worth noting that the troubled edtech giant is also planning to eliminate several high-paying senior executive roles.
“We are in the final stages of a business restructuring exercise to simplify operating structures, reduce the cost base and better cash flow management,” a Byju’s spokesperson told the US-based publication. “Byju’s new India CEO, Arjun Mohan, will be completing this process in the next few weeks and will steer a revamped and sustainable operation ahead.”
Byju's layoffs timeline
This isn't the first time Byju's has laid off employees on such a large scale. Previously, it was reported that the beleaguered edtech startup laid off 500-1,000 employees across various departments in order to cut costs. Following this, Byju's laid off another 100 employees. However, the company cited employee performance as the reason for the layoffs.
Byju’s is undergoing restructuring, consolidating four of its sectors into two (K-10 and Exam Prep), amid efforts to settle a disagreement with lenders regarding a $1.25 billion loan. This comes as the company is dealing with challenges following the sudden resignations of board members and auditor Deloitte in June this year.
Prosus, a major investor in Byju’s, has publicly shared its dissatisfaction with Byju’s, claiming that the company’s reporting and governance structures haven’t adequately developed for its scale. The firm alleged that Byju’s has ignored advice and recommendations from Prosus’ director despite numerous attempts.
Byju's top leadership resignation
Last month, Byju’s Chief Business Officer (CBO), Prathyusha Agarwal, and two other senior executives resigned from the company. Alongside her, Himanshu Bajaj and Mukut Deepak, two other business heads, also exited the company.
Not just Byju's, its subsidiary, Aakash Educational Services (AESL), also witnessed the exits of senior executives Abhishek Maheshwari and Vipan Joshi. Following these departures, the company formed an executive council to onboard a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
In the same month, Ananya Tripathi, the CEO of Byju's-owned WhiteHat Jr., also departed from the company. However, A Moneycontrol report claimed that Byju's didn't accepted Ananya's resignation formally and was attempting to persuade her to stay.
Following the resignation of top leadership, A report claimed that US-based Baron Capital slashed Byju's valuation by 44.6% to $11.7 billion as of June 30, 2023.
What's Byju's new social media policy?
To avoid employees criticising the company's move, Byju's reportedly launched a social media policy that prohibits employees from communicating with the media as it plans to lay off 4,000-5,000 employees.
"You're not allowed to speak directly with any media house or provide company's information including pictures, videos, or screenshots," the policy read according to the Moneycontrol report.
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