A group of employees who were recently laid off from Focus Edumatics Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of US-based education firm Focus Edumatics, has filed a complaint with the Karnataka Labour Commissioner, alleging non-payment of wages and other dues following the company’s abrupt shutdown on January 25, 2025.
The complaint, seen by Moneycontrol, is signed by full-time employees, freelance tutors, and vendors. It highlights how the sudden closure left over 1,700 remote tutors and other staff without severance or clarity on their financial settlements.
Moreover, the total number affected would be close to 3,000 if the contractual workforce were to be included, sources said. On LinkedIn, a similar number of people identified as having worked for the company.
Focus Edumatics provided technology-enabled education services and was acquired by San Francisco-based private equity firm Alpine Investors in 2022.
Emails and texts to the company remained unanswered till the time of publication.
On February 12, the company received a notice from the Karnataka labour department on the matter, a day after former employees filed the complaint.
Meanwhile, on January 25, Focus Edumatics CEO Reed Overfelt convened an “Important Saturday All Hands” meeting at 8:30 PM, on a non-working day, where employees were informed that it was their last working day. The company cited poor financial performance and declining revenue as reasons for the shutdown.
Employees were not allowed to ask questions, and they claim the company has not communicated regarding financial settlements since.
However, employees argue that there was no prior indication of the closure and that key officials, including former India COO Abhinav Ramani, allegedly left for the US before the announcement.
Some employees suspect fund misappropriation, alleging that available funds could have been used for their settlements.
In January, hundreds of affected employees staged a protest in Coimbatore, where a significant chunk of the workforce was employed. Some of them worked for over two years in the company and received no formal notice.
Employee Demands
While some employees have received gratuity and partial payment for January, others claim they are still awaiting settlements for notice period pay, earned leave encashment, severance pay, maternity leave benefits for eligible employees, and full & final (F&F) settlements.
They have urged the Karnataka Labour Commissioner to intervene and ensure the company clears all outstanding payments.
Employees had filed a petition with the Additional Labour Commissioner, and a joint hearing was scheduled. However, they claim that company representatives failed to attend, and notices were denied.
Employees say they have received no response from the company’s leadership, leaving them in financial distress.
The affected employees are now seeking a regulatory investigation into the shutdown, questioning whether company funds were mismanaged before the closure. They have also called for legal action to ensure they receive their rightful dues.
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