BYJU’s has laid off about 1,200 employees from its umbrella of companies, and more rounds of layoffs are expected to follow, as India’s most valued edtech grapples under pressure from investors to put a lid on rising costs, sources told DealStreetAsia.
MoneyControl first reported about the latest layoffs at BYJU’s.
The latest round of layoffs comes less than 6 months after the company handed pink slips to 2,500 employees across multiple departments to rein in costs.
BYJU’s declined to comment.
Despite being backed by marquee investors such as the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Naspers, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), General Atlantic, Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Sofina, Verlinvest, IFC, Aarin Capital, Times Internet, Lightspeed Ventures, Tiger Global, and Owl Ventures, BYJU’s has been under the scanner for its accounting practices, mass layoffs, and widening losses for the past few months.
In December, sources familiar with the matter had told DealStreetAsia that BYJU’S was in talks to negotiate the terms for its $1.2-billion loan.
While BYJU’S is the most valuable Indian edtech firm, it is also the biggest loss-making unicorn in India. In FY21, BYJU’S expenses surged 2.4 times to Rs7,027 crore, while its losses ballooned 14.9 times to Rs 4,564 crore.
The company said it will be “retargeting the marketing budget” towards more efficient growth. However, in Nov. the firm roped in football star Lionel Messi as its brand ambassador, igniting widespread criticism.
In a response to the criticism, Byju’s said “the deal with Messi is not a typical sponsorship deal. It is a partnership to create social impact. It was something that we signed six months back. It is foolish for people to think that we will pay money for Messi after letting people go.”