Troubled Indian EdTech startup Byju’s is reportedly planning to merge several of its business verticals and reduce its workforce by a third, impacting about 4,000 to 5,000 employees, according to a report by The Economic Times. With these significant restructuring initiatives, Byju’s new chief executive Arjun Mohan aims to optimize costs.
Byju’s, known for its innovative online learning solutions, is taking bold steps to realign its business strategy. The company will merge various business units to create a more integrated and efficient operation. These changes are expected to be rolled out later this week or early next week. This consolidation is expected to enhance synergies and improve overall performance.
As part of this restructuring, Byju’s will reduce its workforce that would cover both permanent and contractual staffers at its parent company Think & Learn, and are not linked to any of its subsidiaries. In addition, a considerable number of senior positions at the company would reportedly become redundant. For now, the job cut will be conducted in the India unit and Byju’s subsidiaries such as Aakash and other businesses abroad will not be affected.
While Byju’s has trimmed jobs in the past, the scale of the latest layoff is said to be “deep” with one major difference being the elimination of senior roles this time. The company wants to attract more students to offline centers and stated that it is the primary approach the new management has identified to ensure the sustainability of operations over a period of time, an unnamed source told ET.
The newly appointed CEO Mohan envisions a leaner and more focused Byju’s that can adapt to the evolving demands of the EdTech landscape. In the past couple of months, the trouble-stricken startup has seen a reduction in its valuation by various venture capitalists and investors including Prosus NV and BlackRock. The move follows as Byju’s is looking to work around the repayment of a $1.2 billion term loan B (TLB) that it secured in late 2021 for five years.
