Unacademy, the Indian edtech unicorn, is implementing a cost-cutting exercise that will see the leadership team, including the founders, take a pay cut of up to 25% in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). The salary cuts are permanent and will depend on the current salary, scope, and performance of each leader, according to Gaurav Munjal, cofounder and CEO of Unacademy. The announcement came a day after Unacademy laid off 12% of its workforce in another round of layoffs.
The company has conducted four rounds of layoffs in the past year, firing more than 1,500 employees since March 2022. Despite an 80% jump in consolidated revenue from operations to INR 719 crore ($97 million) in FY22, Unacademy reported an 85% YoY rise in consolidated net loss to INR 2,848 crore ($383 million). The reopening of offline coaching centers, schools, and colleges after the pandemic has adversely affected the business of edtech companies, including Unacademy, Vedantu, BYJU’S, and PhysicsWallah, most of which are struggling with losses.
Specifically, Vamsi Krishna-led edtech unicorn Vedantu’s net loss widened to INR 696.2 Cr in FY22 from INR 616.2 Cr in FY21. Meanwhile, BYJU’S has not yet reported its financial performance for FY22, but its net loss surged 19.8 times to INR 4,588 Cr in FY21. In contrast, PhysicsWallah reported a profit of INR 97.8 Cr in FY22 but also seems to be at a crossroad.