Indian edtech giant Baijus said on Wednesday it will cut 5% of its workforce, or about 2,500 roles, across multiple divisions and cut its marketing budget as it aims to improve its finances and return to profitability by the end of the current fiscal year.
This is the second significant cut in recent months for the $22 billion startup. In June, hundreds of jobs were cut. The move has forced many startups, including Baiju, to postpone their initial public offering amid the ongoing global market downturn.
The startup said it is channeling its marketing budget towards smooth growth. “Since significant brand awareness has been created in India over the past few years, there is scope to prioritize spending to optimize domestic marketing budgets and increase brand awareness in foreign markets,” he said in a statement.
The Indian startup has moved to clear its debts and other balances in recent months. TechCrunch previously reported on TechCrunch. The startup, which recorded a net loss of $577.4 million, aims to turn a profit by the end of the current fiscal year.
It generated a total revenue of $1.258 billion (undisclosed) in the fiscal year ended in March this year. Between April and July, the startup reported $570 million in revenue. It counts Baiju Process Ventures, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital India, Silver Lake, Owl Ventures, UBS and BlackRock among its backers and has raised around $6 billion to date.
“As a mature company that takes its responsibilities to investors and stakeholders seriously, we aim to ensure sustained growth alongside strong revenue growth. These measures will help us achieve profitability by the March 2023 deadline,” Mrinal Mohit, Executive Director, India Business, Baiju, said in a statement.
In an interview with TechCrunch last month, Byju Raveendran, co-founder of Byju, said he doesn’t think the startup will file for an IPO in the next 12 months. The startup is in talks to close a new funding round from sovereign funds in the coming weeks, he said.
“At group level, Baijus will continue to recruit at all levels and will end this financial year as a net recruiter. Baiju plans to hire a total of 10,000 more teachers next year, adding to the current 20,000. To accelerate its growth, the company is expanding its teams to strengthen operational strength by hiring senior executives, the company said in a statement.
