Fired Byju’s employees get 15-day notice period to serve as layoffs begin

On October 12, Byju’s announced that it is laying off five per cent of its 50,000 workforce as part of a restructuring exercise. Now, Byju’s has started sending emails to the employees who have been laid off. As per the emails, reviewed by Business Today, the employees will be required to serve a 15-days notice period. They will get a salary for serving this notice period.
 
One of the laid off employees whom Business Today spoke to said he was “not given any reason on why he is being laid off.” 
 
The employees are required to submit all the company assets and proprietary information in order to initiate the full and final settlement process. These emails have been issued by Byju’s HR Compliance team to the employees. 
 
Business Today reached out to Byju’s. While they did not comment on the 15-day notice period, the spokesperson said that to make the whole process “less painful,” they have created a “dedicated outplacement team who will help the affected employees get a suitable job.”
 
Additionally, multiple sources have told Business Today that the number of employees being laid off is “more than 2,500”. Byju’s has refuted these claims and maintained that the “rationalisation of five per cent of the workforce” will take place across product, content, media and technology teams “in a phased manner.”
 
The spokesperson also highlighted that the edtech company has decided to extend the insurance benefits of the affected employees as well as their entire families by “six more months.” Contrary to the content in the emails sent, the spokesperson highlighted the employees “can also keep the company assets till the time they need.” 
 
“There is also a provision for garden leave, which will help our employees apply for jobs while being on our payroll,” the spokesperson told BT.
 
The spokesperson claims that if the employees fail to get a job within 12 months of their date of separation with the company, Byju’s will evaluate their situation and “rehire them.”
 
Byju’s troubles seem to be mounting as V Sivankutty, General Education and Labour Minister of Kerala, yesterday announced that the Kerala government will conduct a serious investigation into the allegations raised by employees of edtech giant Byju’s in the state.
 
This development came after employees claimed that the company has decided to shut down operations of its office at the Carnival building of Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram without prior notice to employees. More than 170 employees are working at Think & Learn Private Limited, the parent company of Byju’s, at the facility.
 
Byju’s denied these allegations and claimed that the number is 140 and not 170. Additionally, the employees have also been given an option to relocate to Bangalore failing which they will be laid off. 

Also Read: Trouble mounts for Byju's: Karti Chidambaram calls edtech firm's accounting practices 'irregular', demands probe by ICAI

Also Read: 'Think sprint vs marathon’: Suniel Shetty on Byju’s laying off 2,500 employees