In a big overhaul as the Indian edtech space shrinks considerably, online learning giant BYJU's has cut at least 600 jobs -- asking 300 employees at its Toppr learning platform and another 300 at coding platform <keyword id="8080458" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whitehat-jr" source="Orion">WhiteHat Jr</keyword> to go. For the layoff at Toppr which it acquired last year for $150 million, BYJU's confirmed the development, saying it has completed "the integration of Toppr and has absorbed almost 80 per cent of its talented workforce into the BYJU'S ecosystem". After the acquisition was completed, Toppr's employees from the sales and marketing division were retained while those in other departments were asked to go. The company spokesperson said that as the next step, "we are optimising teams to recalibrate business priorities and accelerate our long-term growth". Earlier, online coding provider WhiteHat Jr, the beleaguered platform under edtech giant BYJU's umbrella that it acquired for $300 million, laid off around 300 employees, after more than 1,000 of its employees resigned after being asked to return to office in April-May. This time, most of the fired employees belonged to the code-teaching and sales teams at the platform and some of them worked in Brazil. In a statement, the company said that "to realign with our business priorities, we are optimising our team to accelerate results and best position the business for long-term growth". The layoffs at BYJU's arrived amid reports that it has delayed payments to the stakeholders as part of its $1 billion acquisition of Aakash Educational Services, to which the company said that the acquisition process "is on track and is expected to be completed by August". BYJU's acquired Delhi-based offline test preparatory services provider Aakash for $1 billion last year. A company spokesperson told IANS that the acquisition of "Aakash is fully on track and all payments are expected to be completed by the agreed upon date, i.e., August 2022". "Aakash is our most successful acquisition till date and we are very proud to have them in our fold," the company spokesperson added. "Along with all our group companies, we continue to be perfectly poised to provide access to quality education in all learning segments from early learning to exam prep and career success," the spokesperson said. Aakash Educational Services provides test preparation services for medical and engineering entrance exams, school/board exams, and other exams via Aakash Centres. The edtech unicorn made at least 10 acquisitions for a cumulative transaction value of about $2.5 billion last year. Led by the edtech platforms like Unacademy, WhiteHat Jr, Vedantu, FrontRow, Udayy, Lido Learning and others, over 10,000 start-up employees have been laid off in the country. The layoffs come as the edtech sector has been hammered by the global macroeconomic conditions and reopening of schools, colleges and physical tuition centres. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/impulse-buys-fast-fashion-end-up-in-landfills-and-stay-intact-for-200-years/articleshow/92533424.cms">Impulse buys, fast fashion end up in landfills and stay intact for 200 years</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/bajaj-consumer-believes-that-its-premium-offerings-must-be-affordable/articleshow/92532710.cms"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/lays-kurkure-and-bingo-are-taking-over-indian-snacks-like-aloo-bhujia/articleshow/92508625.cms">Lay’s, Kurkure and Bingo are taking over Indian snacks like Aloo Bhujia, Murukku</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/paytm-is-on-the-cusp-of-a-cup-and-holder-breakout-explaining-the-rally/articleshow/92517971.cms">Paytm is on the cusp of a ‘cup and holder breakout’ — explaining the rally</a>

BYJU's cuts 600 jobs across Toppr, WhiteHat Jr

Firing at Byju’s backed WhiteHat Jr, Toppr and 10 others left 2,000 out of jobs in June

<ul><li>BYJU's is an <keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">edtech</keyword> platform founded in 2015 with a current valuation of $22 billion. </li><li>Management of the edtech platform says cost-cutting is being done to “achieve overall profitability by March 2023”. </li><li>Many edtech firms have resorted to layoffs this year. </li></ul>Indian edtech decacorn BYJU's announced yesterday that it has laid off 2,500 employees as it has consolidated the many platforms it has acquired – like Toppr, Meritnation, <keyword id="192259" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tutorvista" source="Orion">TutorVista</keyword>, Scholar and HashLearn. This move, the company said, is a way to avoid redundancies in job roles and the layoffs constitute 5% of its workforce. “These measures will help us achieve profitability in the defined time frame of March 2023," said Mrinal Mohit, CEO, BYJU'S India business. As per the audited FY21 financials that it released last month after an 18-month delay, its losses widened by 20 times to ₹4,589 crore. In the last three years, the company has been on an acquisition spree. Its biggest one so far is that of offline test preparatory services provider Aakash for $1 billion in 2021. The payments to PE major Blackstone, which owned 38% in Aakash, were eventually <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/byjus-clears-230-million-dues-to-blackstone-for-aakash-acquisition/article65931486.ece">cleared by the company, albeit after delays</a>. It has also purchased Singapore-based <keyword id="6559242" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="great-learning" source="Orion">Great Learning</keyword> for $600 million in 2021. Both these entities will function independently, <keyword id="3320944" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="byjus" source="Orion">Byjus</keyword> had said. Edtechs in trouble This year, many edtech companies have been suffering from loss of clientele after offline classes have commenced and screen fatigue. Since July this year, many edtech companies like Unacademy and Vedantu have been laying off <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/60000-jobs-in-startup-companies-may-lose-their-jobs-this-year-in-india-experts-say/amp_articleshow/91804572.cms">employees</a>. Byju’s which has by then also made its presence felt in offline coaching, is also known to have gone down the same path. As per reports, <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/byju-s-owned-whitehat-jr-lays-off-300-employees-in-latest-round-of-job-cuts-122062900323_1.html">WhiteHat Jr, owned by Byju's</a>, laid off around 300 employees in June from the code-teaching and sales teams. However, various <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/business/byjus-lays-off-over-2500-employees-in-toppr-and-whitehat-jr-to-cut-costs-5463853.html">media reports have pegged the layoff </a>number between 1,500-2,500. The company vehemently denied the numbers, but did admit to retrenchments. “To recalibrate our business priorities and accelerate our long-term growth, we are optimizing our teams across our group companies. This entire exercise involves less than 500 employees from across Byju's group companies,” the company spokesperson said after denying the 2,500 layoff number. In good shape says management The edtech giant, which is valued at around $22 billion and is the first edtech unicorn in India has also been under scrutiny for various reasons. The company management however insists that it is in good shape. <keyword id="5563078" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="divya-gokulnath" source="Orion">Divya Gokulnath</keyword>, the company’s co-founder also came out in defense of the company saying that a lot has happened since its FY21 results and its widened losses have already been cut by half in FY22. “It’s easy to forget that we are 18 months post FY21, and that BYJU’S has grown more than 4 times in this span,” she wrote in an open letter on LinkedIn. For this year, the company has set a target to achieve $2 billion in revenues. The company founder has stated time <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/byju-s-focusing-on-profitable-growth-2-bn-revenue-within-the-sights-ceo-122092001266_1.html">and again that this</a> “revenue within sight”. On the other end of the spectrum, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58951449">Byju’s users have been complaining </a>about aggressive sales tactics and its effects on learning abilities. Moreover, a few of its employees too <a href="https://twitter.com/malpani/status/1379826997598121987?lang=en">publicly spoke of its</a> high-pressure tactics and practices that’s turned almost exploitative to Indian parents who place a lot of value on their children’s education. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/investments-in-real-estate-touched-3-6-billion-in-jan-sep-period-colliers/articleshow/94833113.cms">Investments in real estate touched $3.6 billion in Jan-Sep period: Colliers</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/it-cos-go-slow-on-hiring-despite-high-attrition-rates-hiring-down-57-in-q2/articleshow/94832706.cms">IT cos go slow on hiring despite high attrition rates, hiring down 57% in Q2</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/elon-musk-jokes-he-is-selling-perfumes-to-fund-twitter-acquisition/articleshow/94832660.cms">Elon Musk jokes he is selling ‘Burnt Hair’ perfumes to fund Twitter acquisition, changes bio to “Perfume Salesman” as sales cross 20,000</a>

The many troubles at BYJU’s that goes beyond the recent layoffs

<ul><li>Over 11,000 people have lost their jobs so far this year and it could increase further to 60,000.</li><li>Experts predict that the flow of capital is expected to dry for the next 18-24 months.</li><li>In spite of the stress, funds that startups raised grew by 28.6% in funding value between January to April this year, according to a report by GlobalData.</li><li>Here are few startups that are looking to expand their workforce amid layoff season.</li></ul>Startups in India are facing the brunt of a funding winter and have laid off over 11,000 people so far. It could get worse as experts predict that over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/indian-startups-have-already-laid-off-a-little-over-11000-people-in-the-last-six-months/articleshow/92541036.cms">60,000 </a>people could lose their jobs as the flow of capital is expected to remain dry for the next 18-24 months. According to Business Insider India’s calculations, 25 startups, mostly in the ecommerce and edtech space, have resorted to retrenchments. Seven unicorns — Ola, Blinkit, Unacademy, Vedantu, Cars24 and Mobile Premier League (MPL) — were part of the firing list too. In spite of the stress, funds that startups raised grew by 28.6% in funding value between January to April this year, according to a report by GlobalData. It also said that Indian startups raised $12.1 billion till April – via 672 venture capital deals. It means, a few, if not many have the space and funds to grow. Here’s a list of startups that are looking to expand their workforce this year. 1. E-learning platform Utkarsh to hire 500 people Edtech startup Utkarsh is planning to recruit 500 employees from tier 2 and 3 cities by the end of FY23. It is focussing on hiring from Hindi-speaking states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The company plans to hire senior leadership, educators, and expand their new sales and customer service team. 2. Unicorn LeadSquared to ramp up its employee headcount by 800 SaaS-based marketing automation company LeadSquared, which recently turned into a unicorn after raising $153 million in a series C round, said that it’s looking to double its headcount in a year and a half. This Nilesh Patel-led company will be hiring 800 people over the next few months across sales and marketing, finance, product, engineering, delivery and support functions, as cited by <a href="https://yourstory.com/2022/06/layoffs-saas-startups-hiring-india/amp">YourStory</a>. 3. HappyLocate to hire 600 people by FY23 Tech-based one-stop relocation platform HappyLocate announced its plans to hire 600 people across six departments — sales, HR, accounts, operations, marketing and tech. The company intends to hire fresh graduates from over 50 universities and experienced professionals across the country. 4. Cybersecurity startup Sequretek to strengthen its workforce to 500 Cybersecurity startup company Sequretek to increase its employee headcount from 400 to 500 people across US, Europe, and Asia. The company makes cybersecurity accessible and affordable through a combination of products, platforms and services. 5. Vivifi India to add 1,000 new employees Fintech NBFC Vivifi India Finance aims to amplify its workforce by hiring 1,000 new team members across various streams in FY22. The organization is also looking to expand its geographical territories to newer locations, including in tier 2 and 3 cities, in various states, pan-India, with the headquarters remaining in Hyderabad. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/firing-at-byjus-backed-whitehat-jr-toppr-and-others-left-2000-out-of-jobs-in-june/slidelist/92671183.cms">Firing at Byju’s backed WhiteHat Jr, Toppr and others left 2,000 out of jobs in June</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/ed-has-reportedly-raided-44-locations-of-vivo-and-related-firms-across-the-country/articleshow/92672031.cms">After Xiaomi, Vivo comes under the Enforcement Directorate’s scanner</a>

Amid the layoff season, these five startups are on a hiring spree

11,000 and counting — that’s how bad startup job losses are after Ola, Byju’s & 22 others cut costs

More than 32,000 tech workers have been laid off in the US till July this year, including at Big Tech companies like <keyword id="10387" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="microsoft" source="Orion">Microsoft</keyword> and <keyword id="399907" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="meta" source="Orion">Meta</keyword> (formerly Facebook) and the worst has not been over yet for the tech sector that has seen massive stock sell-off. According to the data compiled by Crunchbase, more than 32,000 workers in the US tech sector have been laid off in mass job cuts, as of late July. "We've included both startups and publicly traded companies that are based in the US. We've also included companies based elsewhere that have a sizable team in the United States, such as Klarna," the analysis said. The layoff includes ride-sharing platform Uber, <keyword id="128682" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="netflix" source="Orion">Netflix</keyword> and several cryptocurrency exchanges and lending platforms. Robinhood, <keyword id="4522875" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="glossier" source="Orion">Glossier</keyword> and Better are just a few of the tech companies that have trimmed their headcount this year. Since April 1 this year, more than 43,000 workers from 342 tech companies/startups have been laid off across the world and over 13 per cent are from <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>, according to latest data compiled by layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks layoffs in startups. In India, more than 25,000 startup workers have lost jobs since the pandemic began -- and more than 11,500 have been fired this year. The layoffs in India are dominated by edtech platforms like Unacademy (1,150 employees), BYJU'S (550 at Toppr and <keyword id="8080458" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="whitehat-jr" source="Orion">Whitehat Jr</keyword>) and <keyword id="2016957" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="vedantu" source="Orion">Vedantu</keyword> (624), along with ride-hailing platform <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword> (nearly 500), healthcare startup MFine (600) and pre-owned cars platform Cars24 (600), among others. The other Indian startups and unicorns that have laid off employees are Meesho, MPL, Trell and Blinkit (now owned by <keyword id="830092" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="zomato" source="Orion">Zomato</keyword>), among others. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/amazon-great-freedom-festival-date-announced-sale-starts-august-6-onwards/articleshow/93268050.cms">Amazon Great Freedom Festival date announced - sale starts August 6 onwards</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/swine-flu-resurfaces-in-keralas-wayanad-first-time-in-kannur/articleshow/93267832.cms">Swine flu resurfaces in Kerala's Wayanad, first time in Kannur</a>

Over 32K tech workers fired in US, more than 11K in India this year

Edtech major BYJU'S on Wednesday announced several measures to bolster its <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> business, saying that its K-10 business, which includes Toppr, <keyword id="1573710" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="meritnation" source="Orion">Meritnation</keyword>, <keyword id="192259" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tutorvista" source="Orion">TutorVista</keyword>, <keyword id="14957" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="scholar" source="Orion">Scholar</keyword>, and HashLearn platforms, will now be consolidated as one business unit. To avoid redundancies and duplication of roles, the move will result in five per cent of its 50,000-strong workforce (about 2,500 people) being "rationalised across product, content, media, and technology teams in a phased manner", the company said in a statement. Aakash Educational Services and Great Learning will continue to function as separate organisations, the company said in a statement. "As a mature organisation that takes its responsibility towards investors and stakeholders seriously, we aim to ensure sustainable growth alongside strong revenue growth. These measures will help us achieve profitability in the defined time frame of March 2023," said Mrinal Mohit, CEO, BYJU'S India business. At a group level, BYJU'S said its top priority is to achieve "overall profitability by March 2023". Over the last three years, BYJU'S acquired multiple companies whose integration with its core business is now complete. BYJU'S said at the group level, it will continue to hire across all levels and will end this financial year as a net hirer. The company plans to hire a total of 10,000 more teachers in the coming year, adding to its current strength of 20,000 teachers. It said it is expanding its teams along with hiring senior leadership to further build operational strength. The company said there will also be re-targeting of the marketing budget towards more efficient growth. "Since significant brand awareness has been created in India over the past few years, there is a scope to optimise marketing budgets locally and prioritise spending to increase brand awareness in overseas markets," the company said. BYJU'S said it is also reinventing its sales model to focus more on inside sales, using video calling platforms which in turn will enhance customer experience and reduce operational costs. Multiple inside sales hubs will now be created across India from where BYJU'S sales associates will reach out to incoming leads through calls, email, and <keyword id="10296" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="zoom" source="Orion">Zoom</keyword> meetings. Inside sales will lead to higher customer satisfaction and lower costs. "None of these measures will have any impact on our revenue run rate," said Mohit. After six stressful and tough months, the company's Co-founder Byju Raveendran recently said that "the worst is finally over" and there is only "growth ahead" as seen in the company's FY22 financial results, where it logged Rs 10,000 crore in gross revenues. BYJU's last month paid the remaining dues of nearly Rs 1,983 crore (over $245 million) to global VC firm Blackstone in the $1 billion acquisition of Aakash. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/hcl-techs-net-profit-rises-6-3-sequentially-increases-fy23-revenue-guidance/articleshow/94813269.cms">HCL Tech’s net profit rises 6.3% sequentially, increases FY23 revenue guidance</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/intel-plans-major-layoffs-this-month-as-pc-sales-nosedive-report/articleshow/94813156.cms">Intel plans major layoffs this month as PC sales nosedive: Report</a>

You Searched For "toppr layoffs" and got 7 results

BYJU's cuts 600 jobs across Toppr, WhiteHat Jr

IANS

Firing at Byju’s backed WhiteHat Jr, Toppr and 10 others left 2,000 out of jobs in June

Kritti Bhalla

The many troubles at BYJU’s that goes beyond the recent layoffs

Eetika Kapoor

Amid the layoff season, these five startups are on a hiring spree

Vaamanaa Sethi

11,000 and counting — that’s how bad startup job losses are after Ola, Byju’s & 22 others cut costs

Kritti Bhalla

Over 32K tech workers fired in US, more than 11K in India this year

IANS

BYJU's consolidates India business, 5% workforce to be 'rationalised' across teams

IANS