Unacademy, India’s largest online education platform, has recently made headlines with news that it has cut 12% of its workforce due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Unacademy, founded in 2015, has seen tremendous success over the past few years and is now a household name in Indian edtech. The company currently has over 10 million users and more than 40,000 instructors. It also claims to be India’s largest live streaming education platform, with over 600+ live classrooms each day conducting classes for more than 50+ boards and 550+ competitive exams.
However, with the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, Unacademy has had to make tough decisions in order to stay afloat. The company has already seen a 70% year-on-year drop in revenue, and in its bid to remain viable, Unacademy has begun cutting staff.
A statement released by the company stated that given the circumstances, “We had to take the difficult but necessary decision of laying off our colleagues who did not have a critical role in driving the organization forward at scale.”
Unacademy also said that it is providing adequate financial assistance, such as payouts and a support fund, to those who have been impacted by the layoffs. The company is also working to ensure that those affected can transition to new career opportunities.
Though the layoffs are undoubtedly an unfortunate consequence of the pandemic, Unacademy’s decision is an indication of the hard choices that many businesses are having to make in uncertain times. With Unacademy now restructuring its operations, the hope is that this move will help the company weather the current economic difficulties and emerge stronger in the future.
