Ex-employees claim BYJU's forced them to sign pre-drafted resignation letters
What's the story
BYJU'S employees who were laid off before the company's recently announced job cuts have made some serious allegations against the company. Some ex-employees claim that the edtech firm forced them to sign pre-drafted resignation letters and even hired bouncers to deal with any potential mishaps. The company has been facing a lot of criticism for its recently announced layoff plans.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Are BYJU'S selling a lie to us with their 2,500 job cuts claim? Is the company using unethical means to force employees out of the organization? These are questions that need answering. This is not the first time employees have alleged BYJU'S of forcing resignations. The start-up is amid a controversy that doesn't seem to go away anytime soon.
Layoffs
Layoffs in BYJU's actually began in June, claim former employees
Last month, BYJU'S announced that it would cut around 2,500 jobs or about 5% of employees in a bid to rationalize its workforce. Some ex-employees have now told NDTV that layoffs began much before that. According to them, the first phase of layoffs was in June, when 3,000 employees were axed. They allege that the company used unethical means to remove them from jobs.
Forced exits
Employees were not given any notice before getting sacked
Former employees of BYJU'S have said that the company treated them "like robots." They allege that they were given no notice and were told of the sacking on the day they were sacked. The company allegedly forced employees to sign pre-drafted resignation letters. Those who refused to quit by themselves were threatened with termination and no end-of-service benefits, the employees said.
No acknowledgement
Employees didn't receive any letter from Byju Raveendran
The allegations by ex-employees don't end there. An employee said that the termination process was conducted through Zoom. Those who were fired in June said that they didn't receive any letter from Byju Raveendran, the company's CEO, like the one he penned recently asking the staff for forgiveness for layoffs. The company also allegedly hired bouncers to deal with untoward incidents.
Company's perspective
BYJU's denies that job cuts are more than 2,500
According to an ex-employee, the number of those fired could go up to 5,000. The company has, however, denied these allegations. It said, "BYJU'S denies that the job cuts are more than 2,500. We are a responsible organization and are treating each employee impacted by the restructuring with the empathy they deserve and need at this time."
Unfair treatment
Employees in Kerala had made the same allegations
BYJU'S has been facing a lot of flak for its recently announced layoff plans. The employees in the company's Thiruvananthapuram office had also alleged that BYJU'S decided to close the office without prior warning and forced them to resign. They met with Kerala Labor Minister to discuss their concerns. The company revoked its plans after the company's CEO met with Kerala Chief Minister.