Byju’s to cut as many as 5,000 more jobs amid business restructuring

Byju’s plans to cut as many as 5,000 jobs in the coming weeks, a person familiar with the matter said, as the Indian edtech giant looks to pare down costs amid a broad restructuring of its business following a delayed IPO and pressure from lenders.

The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, which recently appointed a new head for its India business, is planning to eliminate several duplicate roles across its offline and online businesses, as well as many jobs in the marketing department, the person said, requesting anonymity as the deliberation is private.

Byju’s, which at its last year’s valuation of $22 billion is India’s most valuable startup, is also planning to eliminate several high-paying senior executive roles, the person said. The startup has eliminated over 10,000 full-time and contract positions in the past two years.

“We are in the final stages of a business restructuring exercise to simplify operating structures, reduce the cost base and better cash flow management,” a Byju’s spokesperson said in a statement.

“Byju’s new India CEO, Arjun Mohan, will be completing this process in the next few weeks and will steer a revamped and sustainable operation ahead.”

The restructuring comes at a time when the edtech firm is attempting to resolve a dispute with lenders over terms of a $1.25 billion loan. Byju’s is also coping with pressures stemming from the abrupt resignation of its board members and auditor Deloitte in June this year.

Prosus, one of the largest investors in Byju’s, publicly expressed its disappointment in Byju’s a month later, alleging that the edtech startup’s reporting and governance structures “did not evolve sufficiently for a company of that scale,” and the Indian firm “disregarded advice and recommendations” from Prosus’ director despite repeated attempts.

More to follow.