Byju's layoffs: Ex-staffer says he was available 24x7 but was told to 'resign immediately'

Byju's layoffs: Last October, the company laid off more than 2,500 employees and said that it had set itself a target to achieve profitability, but it has not been able to achieve that target, the founder and CEO Byju Raveendran had said.

As edtech startup Byju's started its fresh round of layoffs across departments as a cost-saving measure amid increased tension with lenders, a former staffer has shared how the company's decision affected him when he was told to "resign immediately".

Arpit Singh was a retention manager at Byju's in Delhi. "I don't know what my fault was," Singh wrote on LinkedIn. "I worked very hard throughout my time in Byju's and I never followed the 10-8 work culture. I was always available 24x7 for my company but they (the HR) came and told me to resign immediately."

Singh had been working with the edtech company for about a year. Now, Singh-- who is the sole breadwinner in the family -- is afraid to share the news of his layoff with them.

"I lost everything. I can't dare tell my family that I lost my job about a month ago because they are not in good condition. I am the only one taking care of them," Singh said, adding that he has applied to several companies but was not selected by any.

In an apparent desperate appeal for help, Singh said that he does not even care about his leaves as he seeks a new job. "I don't want any leaves," he wrote, "I can do any work but I don't have the courage to go through this stage."

The recent phase of layoffs comes a couple of weeks after Byju's refused to pay $40 million in interest on a loan it had raised in November 2021. Instead, the company filed a case against one of its lenders in the New York Supreme Court calling it “predatory.”

Byju's has since then begun discussions with the lenders to reach a resolution. If the court rules in favour of the lenders, the edtech company will have to immediately pay the $40 million.

Last October, Byju’s laid off more than 2,500 employees and said that it had set itself a target to achieve profitability by the end of FY23 (2022-23, the previous fiscal year), but it has not been able to achieve that target, the founder and CEO Byju Raveendran told Moneycontrol in a previous interview.

Read more: Byju’s starts layoffs across departments amid standoff with lenders