Byju’s Announces Restructuring Plans, CEO Arjun Mohan to Cut Jobs

What is the restructuring plan of Byju’s?

Byju intends to eliminate more than 4,000 positions to minimise expenses while revamping its operations. Byju’s New Indian CEO, Arjun Mohan, has unveiled a series of changes. It includes workforce reduction, streamlining business verticals, and a renewed emphasis on profit-centric sectors like K–12 education and test preparation. The sweeping restructuring will impact permanent and contractual employees, with a notable number of senior-level positions set to become redundant. This year, Byju’s will also refrain from engaging in Campus hiring.

What led to the potential fall of Byju’s?

During the pandemic, It acquired a lot of companies. It poured a big amount into promotions and sponsored the Indian team, Byju’s was the official sponsor of FIFA. The company also signed Shah Rukh Khan and Messi for Marketing.

After the pandemic, Byju’s swayed its way and started providing offline coaching. This move distracted the company from its business model of an online Edtech company. It invested in offline coaching centres.  The company kept investing in different activities without thinking about losses. This excessive spending on acquisitions, promotions, sponsorships, and investments, has led to a substantial fall.

What is the current situation of the company?

The company’s value was $22 billion last year; currently, its value is $5.1 billion.  The company claims to have over 150 million registered students. It raised debt financing of $ 250 million in the last round in May 2023. A few months before, the company gave up its most significant Bangalore office space and contract offices in Delhi.

BYJU has previously implemented several cost-cutting measures, especially concerning personnel. It had fired more than 2,500 workers in  2022. The most recent layoffs of around 3,000 occurred in February and June of this year. Now The company thinking of firing 4,000 employees. As per the source, approximately 1,000 employees are already working on the “notice period.”.

What are the financials of Byju’s in FY20 and FY21?

The first shock came in the year 2021, with a loss of Rs 4,589 crore. The loss was 17 times bigger than 2020. Deloitte and three board members left Byju’s in June this year. Due to the company’s continuous delay in releasing its financial reports. The business has chosen BDO to be its new auditor.

What are the key challenges and controversies surrounding the company, and how have they impacted its reputation and operations?

1- Promise vs. Delivery:  Parents felt coerced into buying expensive courses that they couldn’t afford, only to find that the educational services did not meet expectations.

2- Privacy and Data Issues: Allegations of mishandling sensitive user information and breaching privacy regulations raise concerns about data security and ethical business practices.

3- Firing employees: The company fired more than 12,000 employees since 2021, to reduce costs. Around 1,000 people are already working on the notice period.

4- Legal issues: In April, The Bangalore office was raided for foreign exchange violence, and the laptops were also seized. In May, Several US-based investors charged Byju’s with concealing $500 million, which resulted in lawsuits. There are many such cases.

What are the significant problems faced by people? 

After analysing people’s reviews, we have found these major issues that are faced by users

Poor Video Quality and Buffering: Users complain that Low-quality videos and constant buffering on a supposedly high-speed network lead to a frustrating learning experience.

No Response behaviour: A lot of users claimed, unresponsiveness from Byju’s team. They tried to call customer care but did not receive any response. Some also alleged for harsh behaviour of the team for buying courses.

Excessive Calls and Disturbances: Users are bombarded with multiple calls for schemes and subscriptions, causing frustration even after blocking numbers.

Lack of Detailed Explanation: some parents claim that Important concepts are often skipped, and high-level topics aren’t explained clearly, hindering comprehensive understanding.

Limited Account Control: Many Users face difficulties in deleting accounts, and customer service responses are inadequate, leaving users stuck with unwanted promotions.

Incomplete Coverage and No Cancellation Option: BYJU’s content lacks depth post 10th standard, with superficial coverage in subjects like maths. Users find it challenging to cancel subscriptions, feeling they wasted money on a subpar service.

Byju’s vs. PW

The main points which differentiate BYJU’S from PHYSICS WALLAH

1- Target Audience: Physics Wallah primarily focuses on students preparing for engineering entrance exams in India, such as JEE and NEET(which are expensive).  Byju caters to students from kindergarten to class 12.

2- Fee Structure: If we compare the fee structure, we find a large gap. PW provides the cheapest and quality education to their students. BYJU also provides quality education but not at the cheapest price. Now the quality is also declining according to its users.

3- Distribution and Marketing: Byju and other ed-tech platforms invested a lot of money in Marketing and distribution. On the other side, PW did not invest their money in it. They already have a YouTube community which helped them in it.

4- Concept Making: BYJU’S isn’t that developed in making clear concepts. Student says PW makes the concept of each and every topic crystal clear to their students.

5- Language preferences: Both platforms available in different languages English, Hindi, and Marathi. However, according to students, PW teachers use more Hinglish and storytelling techniques that makes them easy to understand.