Byju’s gives up all office spaces except B’luru HQ, makes WFH compulsory for employees indefinitely
Troubled edtech firm Byju’s has given up all its offices across the country and has managed to retain only its headquarters at Bengaluru’s Knowledge Park. The edtech firm on Monday made it mandatory for all its employees to work from home indefinitely barring those working at nearly 300 Byju’s Tuition Centres across India, as reported.
Moreover, Byju’s on Sunday announced that it has disbursed a part of the pending salaries for all employees for the month of February. The edtech firm also promised that it will pay the balance once it is able to use the funds from the rights issue.
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic got over, Byju’s has been facing several issues. These include laying off thousands of employees, dwindling venture capital funding, a slowdown in the demand for online learning, and an oppression and mismanagement suit filed by four of its investors with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
Another issue is the edtech firm’s failure to submit detailed financial results for FY23 to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The company has attempted to tide over these challenges through the promotion of Arjun Mohan as CEO, capital injected by early investor Ranjan Pai as well as the establishment of an advisory committee with the likes of Rajnish Kumar and Mohandas Pai on board.
Byju’s is also considering disinvesting assets such as Great Learning and Epic.
The decision was reportedly taken to address the imminent liquidity crisis, the report said. This comes at a time when the company is embroiled in a dispute over the validity and usage of the funds raised via a recently concluded $200 million rights issue.
The decision to shut down all its offices in the country was reportedly a part of Byju’s India CEO Arjun Mohan’s restructuring plan, sources close to the company said. “This has been in works for over six months. The company has been shutting down offices across the country as soon the lease for each expired,”
At present, the company has around 14,000 employees in India. They have also made alternate funding arrangements to ensure the smooth functioning of their employees’ daily lives. The issues with timely payment of salaries to Byju’s employees can be attributed to the funds raised through the $200 million rights issue being locked in a separate account due to the management’s ongoing feud with the investors.
(This story has not been edited by News Mania staff and is published from a Media Release)
