Amid hubbub around edtech giant Byju's decision to skip an interest payment on its $1.2 billion loan, allegations of possible layoffs have also hit the company.
Though a report by the Morning Context has suggested that the edtech unicorn, which has been valued at $8.2 billion by the world’s largest asset management company, BlackRock, is set to layoff around 1,000 employees, people familiar with the matter have refuted it.
According to sources, who spoke with the The Free Press Journal, Byju’s is not set to layoff employees with any action against marketing executives, hired under its third parties, being out of their purview.
Moreover, a Senior Sales Associate working with Byju’s, who didn’t wish to be named, told the FPJ that he believes ‘the company will not be doing layoffs any time soon.’
Back in February 2023, Byju’s fired around 1,000 employees in several senior roles while in October 2022 it laid off 5% of its workforce totalling around 2,500 individuals.
Byju’s has not released any official statement on the current speculation around layoffs at the time of publishing of this report.
The allegations are significant as the Byju Raveendran-led startup is embroiled in a legal battle against term loan B (TLB) lenders in the New York Supreme Court for ‘predatory tactics.’
With Byju’s refusing to make any payments to the TLB lenders till the dispute is decided, it has discussed an amendment proposal with its group of lenders, as per a report by Bloomberg.
The report said that the Bangalore-based edtech company has been trying to restructure its loans with its creditors since a decline in the pandemic boom of its online tutoring services.
UpGrad co-founder Ronnie Screwvala also took a swipe at Byju’s over its lawsuit on Twitter.
“Drama with ZERO Content … not even a netflix or HBO will buy it. While sullying India’s name as a great investment destination ! Wonder what its erstwhile Board thinks of their fiduciary duties - just asking,” said the tweet by Screwvala, who later clarified that his remarks are personal and don't represent UpGrad’s views.
Back in April 2023, the Enforcement Directorate searched several premises linked to Byju's alleged violation of foreign exchange rules as it received foreign direct investment (FDI) to the tune of Rs 28,000 crores. But a report by IANS in May 2023 revealed that ED has not found any FEMA violations so far.
