After talking with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday, Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran decided that the company will keep its Thiruvananthapuram centre open.
140 employees will continue to work out of the centre while the $22 billion corporation restructures operations in an effort to turn a profit by March 2019.
In 2011 in Bengaluru, Raveendran, a former teacher and the offspring of teachers from Azhikode village in the Kannur region of Kerala, established Byju’s with his wife, Divya Gokulnath.
“Byju Raveendran, who is from Kerala, reiterates his commitment to the state and the leadership team of Byju’s, under his guidance, will pursue a growth strategy in the state,” a Byju spokesperson commented.
The Bengaluru-based company had previously announced that it was ceasing operations in Thiruvananthapuram due to losses. However, it stated that it provided the impacted staff with appropriate relocation opportunities.
In a recent meeting with Kerala’s labour minister V Sivankutty, a group of Byju’s employees said that the company was pressuring employees to leave as it prepared to cease operations and shut down its Thiruvananthapuram office. Reportedly A, a community digital media outlet for IT professionals, Byju’s intended to close the office.
Labour Minister was urged to assist employees of Byju’s
A welfare organization for techies named Prathidhwani asked the labour minister to step in and assist workers in reaching a respectful and peaceful resolution with the company and revamped leaving policy with compensatory payments.
The Kerala government then sent a notice to Think and Learn (P) Ltd, Byju’s parent firm, asking them to appear at the district labour commissioner’s office to negotiate the forced resignation of 170 workers.
Byju’s, on the other hand, declared that it has no plans to leave Kerala and is opening three centres there while employing over 600 people. With this, there will be 14 Byju establishments in the state, including business offices and tutoring facilities. As a result, the state’s workforce will grow from 3,000 to 3,600 people.
This week, Raveendran, who serves as both Byju’s CEO and President, stated that the company must let go of 2,500 employees to prevent position repetition.
