In a strategic shift, the EdTech Aakash Educational Services, which is owned by BYJU'S, has allegedly laid off 80 to 100 employees. According to a report published by Entractr, the lay-offs were being carried out over the past couple of months.
“Aakash has fired anywhere between 80-100 employees, including senior and middle-level executives, who were impacted by the layoffs,” said one source, requesting anonymity, Entractr reported. Further, it is said that several long-time employees with over four years of service were being laid off in the past few weeks.
An Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) spokesperson stated, “As a high-performance organisation, our performance reviews, talent development interventions, and consequence management follow a biannual cycle. We are introducing new business models as part of the Aakash 2.0 strategy, which includes creating new roles, consolidating existing ones, and aggressively hiring new talent. Unlike other players in the category, we expect to be net hirers by the end of this year,” the Entractr report said.
However, it was learnt that the exact number of employees was not disclosed.
To note, this marks the first instance of layoffs at Aakash since its acquisition by BYJU'S in April 2021, the Bengaluru-based EdTech giant spent around $940 million to acquire the company. However, the Chaudhry family, founders of AESL, refused to swap their remaining stake, citing governance concerns.
Meanwhile, it is reported that earlier this year, both companies withdrew their merger petition and operated independently under the Think and Learn brand.
