From 6000 to 3000 employees of this Edtech company

What’s the news?

Educational tech company Unacademy announced its fourth and final round of layoff of employees which counts to 12% or precisely 380 employees. This process of layoff of employees from different companies whether IT or Edtech companies raised a major question of employee security and longevity in any company. The process of laying off the employees will take up to 12 months.

The CEO words of compassion

Unacademy has recently made a decision to downsize its workforce, marking the second round of job cuts in just four months, following the structural layoffs that took place in November 2021, which resulted in the termination of roughly 350 employees or 10 percent of its workforce. With this current reduction in the number of employees, Unacademy's team has now dwindled to less than 3,000 people from its previous count of over 6,000 individuals as of April 2022.

In his memorandum, Munjal informed that the employees affected by the decision will be provided with a severance remuneration that corresponds to their notice period, alongside an extra month's pay. Furthermore, individuals who have worked for the organization for a minimum of one year will receive the benefit of a sped-up vesting period of one year. Munjal also ensured that the impacted staff members will be given medical insurance for an extended period of six months, expiring on the 30th of September.

Unacademy has recently implemented a fresh round of staff reductions in an effort to reduce costs. This follows the company's prior decision to let go of a considerable number of employees, and a significant decrease in advertising expenses. According to a report by Moneycontrol in September, the organization's monthly burn rate has decreased to between Rs 50-60 crore. Additionally, Unacademy is currently in discussions with Aakash, a notable offline coaching industry player presently owned by Byju's, the organization's principal competitor. Furthermore, in July 2019, the executive team and founders at Unacademy announced pay reductions, travel restrictions, and the discontinuation of complimentary meals and snacks for staff in internal communication.

<figcaption class="pl-caption>Credit: Google

In a recent statement, the company's CEO conveyed their renewed commitment to achieving financial stability through the goals of cash flow positivity and profitability. Additionally, employees were encouraged to adopt measures of frugality in their work practices. This message was reiterated in a previous email from July, where the CEO emphasized the importance of enhancing cost efficiencies through employee restructuring instead of layoffs. Despite this, the company has unfortunately had to let go of at least 700 staff members since then. Furthermore, Unacademy has announced that it will not be offering cash appraisals in 2023 and instead will evaluate compensation based on employee performance and stock options.

Also read: US Universities Changing Their Studies Patterns Due to AI Chatbots Use