Unacademy to Cut 10 Percent of Workforce in Second Round of Layoffs Over 'Harsh Economic Conditions'

Unacademy, the Indian online education firm, will cut 10 percent of its workforce due to "harsh economic conditions", the company told employees in a letter on Monday, its second round of layoffs this year. Softbank-backed Unacademy has tried to curb spending on marketing and control operational costs but it was not enough, Founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal said in the letter, which was seen by Reuters.

The Bengaluru-based company employs around 3,500 people, so 350 employees would be affected in this round of layoffs, a source in the company told Reuters on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media about the matter.

"Funding has significantly slowed down and a large portion of our core business has moved offline," Munjal said in the letter.

A spokesperson for Unacademy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Unacademy, which was set up in 2015 and has raised funding from Softbank among other investors, cut more than 600 jobs in April this year, local media reported at the time.

"We made a commitment of no layoffs in the organisation but the market challenges have forced us to reevaluate our decisions," Munjal said in the letter.

Back in July, the government warned ed-tech companies against unfair trade practices in India. In a meeting with industry body India Edtech Consortium (IEC), Consumer Affairs Secretary said that stringent guidelines would need to be worked out for ensuring transparency if self regulation does not curb the unfair trade practices in the sector.

Ed-tech platforms gained massive attention during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic as schools and colleges were shut down due to lockdowns. But the growing adoption later pointed out the gaps that need to be filled in the sector.

© Thomson Reuters 2022