Vedantu fires over 600 people in May

Vedantu, an edtech firm that competes with Byju's and Unacademy, announced on Wednesday that it has laid off 424 staff. These 424 workers make up 7% of the company's total staff of 5,900.

“Currently, the external environment is tough. War in Europe, impending recession fears, and Fed rate interest hikes have led to inflationary pressures with massive correction in stocks globally and in India as well. Given this environment, capital will be scarce in upcoming quarters,” Vamsi Krishna, chief executive officer and co-founder of Vedantu, said in a blog post.

This comes just two weeks after it sacked 200 professors and assistant teachers, both contract and full-time, for poor performance. Vedantu later stated that this is part of a re-evaluation process and that the affected staff has been informed in advance.

Over 100 workers will be employed to replace those who were laid off on May 5, according to Vedantu. In May, Vendantu lay off 624 employees, accounting for roughly 10% of its total staff.

Eight months back, the edtech giant — valued at over $1 billion in October 2021 — had also announced its plans to hire over 1,000 employees. However, Vedantu is not the only edtech company to do so. Its rival Unacademy has been trimming its workforce since February 2022 in order to turn profitable by the end of this year. The company, just like Vedantu, also laid off 600 employees, or 10% of its workforce.