Tiger Global-backed edtech Scaler lays off 150 employees

The layoffs come a year after the company, in a media interview, said it expanded its workforce by over 150 percent to 2,000, compared to 800 employees in February 2022.

Edtech company Scaler has started laying off employees in a bid to reduce redundancy in roles, sources told Moneycontrol.

The layoffs will impact about 150 employees, about 10 percent of the total workforce, in the marketing, sales and other departments of the company, people familiar with the matter said. According to the company, it currently has a workforce of about 1,500 employees. Of that, 1,000 are full time staffers while the remaining are consultants, contractual employees and interns.

The layoffs come a year after the company, in a media interview, said it expanded its workforce by over 150 percent to 2,000, compared to 800 employees in February 2022.

“We have designed a new way of working to be able to achieve sustainable growth while delivering the best learning experience and outcomes for our learners - something that we've always been committed to. As part of this restructuring, we identified some functions/roles, primarily in marketing and sales, in the company that we had to part ways with,” Abhimanyu Saxena, Co-Founder, Scaler and InterviewBit told Moneycontrol, in response to queries.

This comes even as working professionals continue to explore the option of so-called lifelong learning, and demand for upskilling courses on edtech platforms has stayed robust. In stark contrast to other online learning avenues like K-12 and test prep that have been experiencing a decline in the wake of the post-Covid pull back, amid a funding scarcity.

Scaler, an online tech education platform launched in 2019 by InterviewBit Technologies, offers a structured programme for upskilling technology capabilities of learners and runs an undergraduate university called the Scaler School of Technology. The company was last valued at $710 million in February 2022 during its last funding round making it a soonicorn or a company valued above $500 million but under $1 billion.

Saxena added that the layoffs were not a performance-driven decision and assured all those affected are provided with the necessary support to ensure a smooth transition.

“Our employees play a strategic role in our mission of change for the Indian tech ecosystem through our varied education solutions, and we will continue to invest in their growth as we work together to transform the sector,” said Saxena.