Edtech unicorn Vedantu lays off 200 employees

Edtech unicorn Vedantu has laid off 200 employees almost seven months after the Tiger Global-backed company’s entry into the unicorn club. With this, the Bengaluru-based company has joined more than half a dozen growth-stage startups which recently fired a significant chunk of their workforce. 

“We have over 6000 employees out of which ~120 contractors and 80 full-time or 3.5% of the total strength, are academics or assistant teachers were being reevaluated. We have an annual contract with them, and at the beginning of every academic year, we follow a process of load rebalancing where we rejig pertaining to these roles, based on our growth expectations…,” said Vedantu’s spokesperson in a statement.

While the company has maintained it’s a part of re-evaluation, several employees have claimed that the company has served them pink slips without any prior notice.

According to the company’s spokesperson, it’s also hiring over 1,000 employees in various teams including 100 plus for similar positions.

Vedantu was the third edtech startup that entered the unicorn club in 2021 along with Eruditus and UpGrad. The company’s core offering covers online classes from grade 6 to 12 along with materials from grade 1 to 12 and JEE. The company ventured into kids coding space (ages 6 to 12) in May 2020.

It’s worth noting that Vedantu was the frontrunner to acquire Ronnie Screwvala-backed edtech startup Lido Learning which was on the verge of shutting down due to lack of funds. The company recently introduced live interactive classes starting at Rs 5,000 a year.

When it comes to layoffs in the ecosystem, several growth and late-stage companies have trimmed their workforce to extend their runway and conserve cash as the funding environment has turned tepid.  For example, social commerce company Meesho sacked more than 150 employees. In the same month, edtech unicorn Unacademy fired over 600 employees in a cost-cutting drive.

Furniture rental startup Furlenco, edtech company Lido, social commerce platform Trell and bookkeeping startup OkCredit also shrunk a notable chunk of their employee base this year. Entrackr had exclusively reported about Lido, Trell and OkCredit’s layoffs.