In yet another round of layoffs, online higher education company upGrad has let go nearly 30 per cent of its workforce at its subsidiary “Campus”. For the unversed, upGrad Campus is the rebranded version of Impartus, acquired by Ronnie Screwvala-backed upGrad for Rs 150 crore in March 2021. This is the second round of layoffs at an UpGrad-owned subsidiary after it sacked 70 employees at Harappa Education in December 2022.
WHAT LED TO THE SACKING?
According to leading startup covering portal Entrackr, citing sources, a lack of VC funding has caused layoffs in the startup ecosystem, affecting especially late-stage organisations.
Apart from IT firms, the edtech industry topped the list of sectors that conducted the highest number of layoffs last year. Owing to the downturn in the market, over 18,000 employees reportedly lost their jobs in the sector so far.
In January, edtech platform Unacademy-run Relevel laid off 40 employees, or 20 per cent of its workforce as it shifts its focus from the education business to “tests product” and a new app called NextLevel.
Besides, BYJU’s laid off a further 15 per cent of its employees from its engineering teams, as the company continues phased layoffs to remain growth-oriented in a global economic meltdown. The company in a fresh round of layoffs has asked more than 1,000 workers (or 15 per cent) to go, mostly from its engineering teams.
