Edtech company Vedantu lays off 424 employees

Edtech company Vedantu has laid off more employees as the company announced its second round of layoffs this month. On May 5, the Bengaluru-based edtech unicorn had sacked 200 employees including 120 contractors and 80 full-time.

“There is no easy way to say this - out of 5900 Vedans, 424 of our fellow teammates i.e ~7%  of our company, will be parting with us. This has been an extremely difficult call to make, and I want each Vedan to understand why we had to take this call and what it means to you and the future of Vedantu,” said Vamsi Krishna (CEO and Co-founder) in a blog post.

The move comes even as Vedantu had announced plans to hire over 1,000 employees in various teams during the first round of layoffs. To that extent, the move would indicate an internal realignment of the skills and competencies required by the firm too. 

“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 for upcoming quarters,” added Krishna.

According to Vedantu, the sacked employees will be provided with extended health benefits for self and family till 5th August 2022 and access to 15 doctor consultations and discounted pathology & pharmacy services through Practo till 29th April 2023.

Edtech companies have witnessed the highest number of layoffs in the Indian startup ecosystem. In April, edtech unicorn Unacademy fired over 600 employees in a cost-cutting drive. Another edtech company Lido Learning had fired hundreds of employees and was on the verge of shut down. Recently, Byju’s-owned WhiteHat Jr also fired around 800 employees according to an Inc42 report.

Apart from edtechs, social commerce companies Meesho and Trell, furniture rental startup Furlenco, and bookkeeping startup OkCredit also reduced a notable chunk of their employee base this year.