BYJU’S CEO Byju Raveendran wrote a letter to employees apologising and explaining the rationale for the recent layoffs, closely after employees of the company’s Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram office said they were being forced to resign. 

In an internal e-mail, which was reviewed by businessline , Raveendran apologised to the employees who had been laid off and said they were more than just a name or a number. “You are not just five per cent of my company. You are five per cent of me. I know that nothing can really compensate for your loss. And I completely understand if you are upset about this. Because it breaks my heart too - much more than you think,” he wrote while reasserting that the layoffs were not a reflection of the employees’ performance. 

The letter said the company’s rapid organic and inorganic growth created some inefficiencies, redundancies and duplication within the organisation, and that it had to be rationalised to achieve profitability at the group level this financial year.

“I realise that there is a huge price to pay for walking on this path to profitability. We are having to part ways with 2,500 of our colleagues to avoid role duplication across our businesses. It is with a heavy heart that we have had to take this difficult decision. Some business decisions have to be taken to protect the health of the larger organisation and pay heed to the constraints imposed by external macroeconomic conditions,” said Raveendran.

The letter emphasised that the overall job cuts are not more than five per cent of company’s total strength (50,000). . 

Last week, several employees had complained to the worker unions’ in Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram about being asked to resign or face termination. The company had, however, denied these allegations. 

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