Ed-tech entrepreneur Byju Raveendran, previously a regular on India's Forbes list of the richest, is notably absent from the 2024 list of the top 100 richest Indians.
His company, Byju's, which was once one of India's most valued startups, is currently in dire straits and is heavily cash-strapped. From multiple rounds of layoffs, to delays in salaries and deep valuation cuts, the edtech continues to face a slew of challenges.
For the fiscal year ending March 2022, the much delayed financials showed a net loss of more than $1 billion. Following this, BlackRock slashed its valuation of Byju’s to about $1 billion, down from the $22 billion in 2022.
Byju's laying off 500 employees: Report
Byju's is laying off about 500 employees, including from sales, amid a financial crunch, sources said, even as the troubled edtech firm maintained that it is in the final stages of business restructuring to streamline operations.
The layoff in the embattled edtech company began 15-20 days ago, sources said, adding that it would impact 500 employees.
They, however, pointed out that the edtech player might not have to resort to further rationalisation, except in the 'worst case scenario'.
The latest round of job cuts will impact sales functions, teachers and some tuition centres. There was no official word from Byju's, which has been embroiled in a legal dispute with some of its investors, with regard to the layoffs.
Few staff members were purportedly communicated about the development over the phone.