NEW DELHI: Byju’s has deferred clearing the final dues of a batch of its laid off employees to November. “We regret and acknowledge the delays in settling dues of former employees. As we work through a difficult business restructuring, we are committed to meeting all our obligations as soon as possible,” the company said in a statement.
In June this year, the troubled edtech firm had laid off some 500-1,000 employees in a bid to check costs, its second significant cost cutting exercise since October last year. The employees (those laid off in June) were earlier slated to get their final settlement by September, a company spokesperson said.
The development comes at a time when the troubled firm has put its units Great Learning and Epic on the block in a bid to repay the $1.2 billion term loan to its lenders it had raised in 2021. The company which in its peak had spent billions of dollars on acquisitions has been engaged in negotiations with its lenders to rework the loan terms after having missed an initial August deadline for the same. In a recent development, the lender consortium in a filing with a US court has alleged that Byju’s hid $533 million raised as part of the $1.2 billion loan in a lesser known hedge fund Camshaft Capital Fund. The edtech startup denied the allegation, saying that it has invested the money in high grade fixed income assets.
Valued at $22 billion at its peak, Byju’s is battling a series of crises and has come under the scrutiny of authorities following the resignation of its former auditor Deloitte and three board members in late June. Recently, the CEO and CFO of its prized asset Aakash Educational Services (AESL) also quit, nudging the company to set up an executive committee tasked with steering the affairs at its test prep unit. In its latest markdown by investor Prosus, Byju’s was valued at $5.1 billion.
In June this year, the troubled edtech firm had laid off some 500-1,000 employees in a bid to check costs, its second significant cost cutting exercise since October last year. The employees (those laid off in June) were earlier slated to get their final settlement by September, a company spokesperson said.
The development comes at a time when the troubled firm has put its units Great Learning and Epic on the block in a bid to repay the $1.2 billion term loan to its lenders it had raised in 2021. The company which in its peak had spent billions of dollars on acquisitions has been engaged in negotiations with its lenders to rework the loan terms after having missed an initial August deadline for the same. In a recent development, the lender consortium in a filing with a US court has alleged that Byju’s hid $533 million raised as part of the $1.2 billion loan in a lesser known hedge fund Camshaft Capital Fund. The edtech startup denied the allegation, saying that it has invested the money in high grade fixed income assets.
Valued at $22 billion at its peak, Byju’s is battling a series of crises and has come under the scrutiny of authorities following the resignation of its former auditor Deloitte and three board members in late June. Recently, the CEO and CFO of its prized asset Aakash Educational Services (AESL) also quit, nudging the company to set up an executive committee tasked with steering the affairs at its test prep unit. In its latest markdown by investor Prosus, Byju’s was valued at $5.1 billion.
