Byju's Not To Shut Down Office in Thiruvananthapuram, To 'Take Back Employees'

During a meeting with Kerala Labour Commissioner K Vasuki on 2 Nov, Byju's agreed to keep the office functional.

Byju Raveendran

(Photo: The Quint)

Weeks after ed-tech startup Byju's announced that it would shut down its office in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, Prathidhwani Technopark, a welfare organisation for IT workers, said in a Facebook post that the company has now reversed its decision.

During a meeting with Kerala Labour Commissioner K Vasuki and the representatives of Prathidhwani on 2 November, Byju's agreed to keep the Thiruvananthapuram office functional and take back all the employees who were "forced to resign."

Though an official communication has not been sent, a Byju's employee verified the information with The Quint.

The post read, "The BYJUs app Media Development centre will continue operations from Technopark. The decision to shutdown is reverted and the status will be maintained as in September 2022. BYJUs will take back employees who were asked to resign during last month (Those who forcefully resigned)."

What Happened?

Earlier in October, several employees of Byju's were reportedly told that the company would shut down its Technopark office in Kerala's capital city and that they must voluntarily resign or risk being terminated. Nearly 140 employees were affected by this decision.

While several employees tendered their resignation and accepted one and a half months of salary as remuneration, others took the legal route and approached the Labour Commission of Kerala as well as Labour Minister V Sivankutty.

After meeting the employees on 25 October, the minister posted on Facebook:

"The employees of Byju's app from Technopark Thiruvananthapuram had come to see me. The employees have many grievances, including job loss. The Labour Department will conduct a serious investigation in this regard."

Later that evening, Byju's sent a 'reconciliatory' email to its employees, stating that their "jobs are still secure" and that the company has "made provisions to accommodate the entire Trivandrum team, which we hold in high regard, in our Bengaluru operations."

The mail further said that all employees needed to do was join the Bengaluru team by 1 December. If the employees chose not to join the Bengaluru team, they were told they would receive a "progressive exit package."

The confusion prevailed for days until the CEO sent a mail to the employees on 31 October, stating that he was "truly sorry" to those who would have to leave Byju's and that the job cuts were necessary to "avoid duplication."