Bengaluru: India’s popular edu-tech startup Byju’s will lay off 2,500 employees in its push towards achieving profitability by March next year, the Tiger Global-backed firm said on Wednesday.
Valued at around $22 billion in September, the online learning platform had in May reported a loss of 45.64 billion rupees ($554.77 million) for fiscal 2021 due to higher promotion and employee expenses.
The startup, which employs 50,000 people, said it expects layoffs at its product, content, media and technology teams as well as revision of sales and marketing approaches to result in “sizable savings with no impact on growth”.
“We aim to ensure sustainable growth alongside strong revenue growth,” Mrinal Mohit, chief executive at Byju’s India business, said.
The move comes against the backdrop of a weakness in demand for Byju’s, which had emerged as a pandemic winner as lockdowns had forced schools to remain shut for months.
The startup is also planning to add 10,000 teachers in 2023 to its current strength of 20,000 amid increasing competition, with educational technology firms ramping up their presence in coaching hub Kota and other cities in India.
Byju’s has spent $2.5 billion in fiscal year ended March 2022 to acquire companies such as Aakash, U.S.-based Epic, kids’ coding platform Tynker, professional education firm Great Learning and exam perpetration platform Toppr.
Last month, Byju’s paid 19 billion rupees to Blackstone Inc, settling its dues to the private equity firm as part of a $950 million deal to buy Aakash Educational. –Reuters
Also read: Affordable countries, student loans — how small-town India is pursuing foreign education dreams