As part of its Aakash 2.0 plan, BYJU-owned Aakash Educational Services Ltd. (AESL) has made a big restructuring move by terminating hundreds of employees. Announced in September 2024, this move has garnered notice as a turning point in the company’s shift to a more streamlined and integrated operational strategy. The layoffs coincide with larger industry unrest at BYJU, which has been facing a number of difficulties with its online learning programs. Here is a closer look at the circumstances around this choice and how it will affect the business and its workers.
Credits: medial
Aakash 2.0: A Strategic Shift
The layoffs are part of the Aakash 2.0 initiative, a strategic plan aimed at consolidating roles and reshaping the company’s workforce to better support its ongoing expansion efforts. According to a company spokesperson, the layoffs affected employees at all levels, including those in mid- and senior-level positions. The move comes as part of a broader restructuring effort by BYJU’s, which acquired Aakash in a $940 million deal in April 2021, marking one of the largest acquisitions in India’s edtech sector.
Aakash 2.0 is focused on expanding the company’s footprint, particularly by adding 200 new physical centers. To support this growth, Aakash has been working to streamline its workforce and optimize its operations. The company spokesperson clarified that while layoffs were necessary, the strategy includes creating new roles that align better with Aakash’s long-term goals. However, for the employees affected, this shift has been challenging, as many have been forced to leave or take on new roles with lower pay.
Credits: Inc 42
The Impact on Aakash’s Digital Classroom Program
One of the most significant consequences of the Aakash 2.0 strategy has been the shutdown of the Aakash Digital Classroom Program (AD-CRP). This program, designed to offer online education services as part of BYJU’s wider digital offerings, had become an integral part of the company’s services. However, BYJU’s decision to close this program led to the layoffs of over 750 employees from the AD-CRP team.
The AD-CRP employees, many of whom had been working to expand BYJU’s digital reach, found themselves with little warning about the shutdown. The company reassigned some staff members to other departments, such as its sales and offline centers, where their responsibilities now include selling both Aakash’s physical education services and BYJU’s digital offerings.
The integration of the AD-CRP team into BYJU’s sales system is part of a larger plan to create synergies between Aakash’s offline and digital platforms. As Aakash looks to expand its offline presence, the focus is shifting away from pure digital education towards a blended model that leverages both physical and digital infrastructure.
A Widespread Impact on Employees
About 200 people were affected by the layoffs, which were announced between August and September 2024; others who quit freely were also affected. Many have found this transition to be challenging, especially as some were moved to positions at Aakash’s offline locations or call centers, where their pay was much less than what it was at BYJU’s.
Aakash explained that the layoffs were caused by the company’s changing business demands as outlined in the Aakash 2.0 plan, not by performance. While some workers chose to leave since they could no longer continue in their new responsibilities due to the altered conditions, others accepted the new roles albeit at a lower salary.
BYJU’s Ongoing Challenges
At the same time that Aakash is laying off employees, its parent firm BYJU’s is dealing with serious operational and financial difficulties. Due to its digital offerings, which have slowed dramatically since the epidemic as more students choose to traditional, in-person schooling, the edtech behemoth has been under fire. BYJU had to reevaluate its investments in digital education platforms as a result, which prompted cost-cutting steps including the termination of the Aakash Digital Classroom Program.
In addition to these difficulties, BYJU’s expansion aspirations are made more difficult by the company’s decision to rescind its merger position during the National Company Law Tribunal proceedings. BYJU’s is trying to remove redundancies and streamline processes across all of its businesses, including Aakash, as it focuses more on sustainability and profitability.
