On Tuesday, the saga of Bengaluru-based Byju’s layoff took a new turn. More than 170 employees of Think & Learn Private Limited raised their voices after being ordered to forcibly leave by the company management, according to a LinkedIn post shared by Technopark Today, a community network for IT professionals.
The statement further stated that the edtech decacorn intended to close its doors in Trivandrum’s Technopark’s Carnival building. A welfare group for tech workers, Prathidhwani, brought up this issue and met with Kerala Labour Minister V Sivankutty to ask him to get involved and see that it is resolved in an “amicable and respectful” manner.
In response to Business Today’s inquiry, Byju stated that the figure is 140, not 170. The company has given the entire Trivandrum personnel the option of moving to the Bangalore office, the corporate representative told BT. If they cannot do so, they will receive compensation in the form of outplacement services, paid time off, and health insurance benefits.
In a meeting on October 25, Prathidhwani also asked the minister to recommend that the business not force employees to resign and to change the employee exit policy.
The demands with regard to the leaving policy include paying employees’ October 2022 salaries on November 1, 2022, a one-time settlement wage for three months (November 2022-January 2023), cashing out all accrued vacation time, and fully settling variable pay.
“Honorable minister Sri V Sivankutty assured that Labour Dept. will intervene in the same. Byju’s App employees and Prathidhwani representatives were present during the discussion with the minister,” the post read.
