Byju's group firm Toppr lays off 1,100 employees in a day to cut costs

Edtech major Byju's group firm Toppr has laid off 1,100 staff or about 36 per cent of its workforce from the company earlier this week, according to some of the employees who have been hit by the decision.

Toppr's sacked employees said that they got a call from the company on Monday and were asked to resign, failing which they will be terminated without any notice period.

"I am part of the Chemistry subject matter expert. My entire team has been laid off. Toppr has promised 1 month salary for those who resign and no salary for those who don't," a Toppr employee, who did not wish to be named, told PTI.

A query to Toppr co-founder Zeeshan Hayath on his WhatsApp did not elicit any response.

Byju's acquired Toppr for about USD 150 million in July last year. Another employee, who has been laid off by Toppr, said that earlier this year everyone was assured by the top management, including Hayath, that there is a high growth opportunity for the employees in the company.

"However, we have been getting some indication about low business after offline classes resumed across the country. I have worked at Whitehat Jr also. Online education is unable to match offline class," the employee said.

The development comes after another Byju's group firm Whitehat Jr has laid off 300 employees. Edtech firms Unacademy, Vedantu, Lido, Frontrow, Lido etc have cumulatively laid off over thousands of people this year.