Byju’s employee bursts into tears, seeks govt’s help over ’toxic’ work culture and immediate layoff | Watch
Byju's is facing allegations from an employee about sudden termination. The employee, Akansha Khemka, claimed toxic work culture and sought government support.
Ed-tech startup Buju's, already embroiled in numerous controversies recently, is now facing allegations from one of its employees about a sudden termination.
A woman named Akansha Khemka from Kolkata got burst into tears in a video message, seeking the government's support for saving employees from a 'toxic' work culture.
Khemka, who worked as an Academic Specialist with Byju for 1.5 years, claimed that she did not take a single day's leave.
Further, she said that her reporting manager informed her she has been terminated on account of her performance and behavior, while HR noted this was not the reason behind the layoff.
“The management wants people to resign on their own, and those doing so will receive their salaries on the first (August). On the other hand, for people who do not resign voluntarily, and are sacked, the company may take 30 to 45 days to pay their salaries,” Khemka quoted the HR as saying.
Khemka says she is the sole breadwinner for her family. She said both Byju and the company's founder Raveenderan would be directly responsible if she was to take an ‘extreme step.'
Khemka also sought the support of the Central government. She said instead of going abroad and talking about justice, the government must ensure justice for the people of the country first.
Further, Khemka mentioned about complaints from parents, especially regarding refunds, "They (Byju's) burned through all the parents' money. Every time there's a meeting, parents keep demanding their money back. Why is this happening? Byju's has been eating away everybody's money. What they are doing with parents and employees is fraud."
Also, she requested other professionals not to join Byju's. "Do whatever you want in life, teach wherever, do not get a job at Byju's and ruin your lives. I ruined 1.5 years of my life here."
Khemka uploaded the video on LinkedIn on 26 July. Recently, another video clip went viral where a Byju employee was engaged in a tense discussion with her senior, allegedly over incentive-related matters.
Byju's crises
Tensions have gripped Byju's as once high-flying tutoring startup failed to file its financial accounts on time, skipped an interest payment on its term loan, and triggered a legal fight with its creditors. Several US-based investors accused Byju’s of hiding half a billion dollars, prompting lawsuits.
Also, the crisis-ridden startup has cut down on its office spaces in Bengaluru in a bid to cut costs and ramp up liquidity.
Byju vacated one of the three offices in Bengaluru. Also, it has vacated three out of the six floors it occupied at its main corporate office.
This week, one of Byju's investors-Prosus NV asserted that the company's reporting and governance structure did not evolve sufficiently for an entity of this scale and it "regularly disregarded advice" by the Dutch-listed firm.
Prosus, which this year slashed the valuation of Byju's to $5.1 billion from $22 billion last year, said the decision for its director to step down from Byju's board last month was mainly because he was "unable to fulfill his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the Company and its stakeholders".
Meanwhile, the governemnt has ordered an inspection of the books of BYJU's. The corporate affairs ministry decided to inspect after taking note of the developments, including that the company has been unable to finalise its financial statements and that its auditor has resigned
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Business NewsCompaniesNewsByju’s employee bursts into tears, seeks govt’s help over ’toxic’ work culture and immediate layoff | Watch
First Published:28 Jul 2023, 09:09 AM IST
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