In Kerala, Byju’s appears to have found itself in a pickle. The charges made by workers of edtech giant Byju’s in the state have prompted a serious investigation, according to V Sivankutty, Kerala’s minister for general education and labour.
“The executives of Technopark’s IT employees’ welfare organisation Prathidhwani and staff members of Byju’s App from Thiruvananthapuram met me. The employees’ grievances are many and include job loss. In this context, the Labour Department will launch a thorough investigation,” the Minister posted on Facebook.
Technopark Today, a community website for IT workers, shared a LinkedIn post from the company stating that it has decided to close its office in the Technopark Carnival building in Thiruvananthapuram without giving any advance notice to the staff. The facility is home to more than 170 employees of Byju’s parent firm, Think & Learn Private Limited. According to the article, the establishment’s management is pressuring employees to resign under duress.
The affected employees’ group and Prathidhwani authorities asked the government to get involved in the matter of forced resignation and offer support to make sure that things end “amicably and dignifiedly.”
In response to a question from Business Today, a representative for Byju’s denied any forced resignations and stated that the staff members were given a month to move to the company’s centres in Bangalore.
He has verified the closure of the Technopark location. More than 1500 people are employed in the state by Byju’s and the firms in its group, including more than 1000 by Byju’s alone. All other sites in the state, according to the spokeswoman, are still open for business.
An organisation official had informed Business Today that there are 140 affected employees rather than 170 as the news first surfaced on Wednesday. The representative claimed that the Bangalore office has been offered as a relocation option to the whole Thiruvananthapuram facility workforce. If they are unable to do so, they will receive compensation in the form of outplacement services, paid time off, and health insurance benefits.
According to the spokeswoman, “This compensation also includes an assured opportunity to be rehired by Byju’s during the following 12 months at any operational location within India.”
Prathidhwani also asked the minister to ask the corporation to reconsider the terms of the employees’ leaving during the meeting on October 25, which was held that day.
The group insisted that the leaving terms be changed to guarantee that workers receive their October wage on November 1, 2022, a one-time settlement income for three months (November 2022–January 2023), the ability to cash in any earned vacation time, and complete settlement of variable pay.
The honourable minister Sri V Sivankutty promised that the Labor Department would get involved. Employees of Byju’s App and Prathidhwani officials were present during the ministerial conversation,” the tweet stated.
Byju’s declared on October 12 that it is dismissing 2,500 workers from its whole workforce. A corporate representative had previously told Business Today that the layoffs “will not happen immediately,” but rather “over the course of the next six months.”