Edtech company ByJuice has reportedly vacated its largest office space in Bengaluru as part of a drive to cut costs and boost liquidity due to funding delays. It also let out a portion of another office space in the same city.
According to the report of Monetary control, including a 5.58 lakh sq ft property in Kalyani Tech Park, Byjus has a total of three office spaces in Bengaluru. At least six employees have confirmed to the news portal that the company has asked them to work from other locations or from home from July 23. Additionally, the company has vacated two of the nine floors of the Prestige Tech Park, employees said.
A spokesperson of Byjus said, “Byjus has 3 million square feet of leased space across the country to meet its needs. Expanding and reducing office space is based on changes in operational policies and business priorities, which are very frequent and aimed at increasing operational efficiency. Monetary control.
Byjus had leased two buildings, Magnolia and Ebony, at Kalyani Tech Park in Brookfield last June. It vacated Magnolia last month and transferred staff to Ebony. Employees have been asked to work from Prestige Tech Park and main office at Baneghatta Main Road.
Security officials at the Kalyani Tech Park confirmed the development and stated that Byjuz would move out of Ebonyi in August. Initially, the company leased five floors in Magnolia and six floors in Ebony. However, now four of the six floors in Ebonyi are vacant and the remaining two floors are due in August.
on the weekend, Monetary control Kalyani Tech Park and Baiju’s remaining two offices, IBC Knowledge Park at Bannerghatta and Prestige Tech Park at Katabisanahalli were visited.
The company is expected to save around Rs 3 crore in monthly rent by vacating the office space of around 5.58 lakh square feet.
Byjus’ move to vacate office space is significant as it sheds light on the financial challenges facing the country’s most valuable unicorn, which has been mired in various problems, including a dispute with lenders. Byjuice has been seeking more than $700 million in funding since the beginning of this year, but has been unable to secure it.
Last month, the byjus of the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) came under scrutiny for non-payment of PF dues, highlighting further cash flow problems of the company.
Data on the official EPFO portal revealed that the company disbursed provident fund (PF) to only 738 employees in June despite an agreement with EPFO to clear the payments before July 15. PF payments were made to around 25,000 employees in May.
Byjuice last month implemented a cost-cutting initiative that led to the layoff of more than 1,000 employees. However, on July 22, Monetary control The company reportedly assured Baiju’s Tuition Center (BTC) employees in an emergency town hall that there would be no further layoffs at BTCs. However, BTC employees planned a pan-India protest on July 25 amid speculation of further layoffs.
In April, the Enforcement Directorate had raided Baiju’s offices in Bengaluru under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. The company has not yet filed its audited results for FY22 (2021-22).
Founded a decade ago by former teacher Baiju Ravindran, Baijus has raised more than $5 billion, securing most of its funding in the past five years.
In recent months, the edtech major has been grappling with multiple issues, including concerns over its corporate governance practices.
Audit firm Deloitte resigned as Baiju’s auditor citing delays in submitting financial statements, while three of its board members resigned simultaneously, indicating the depth of the crisis at the edtech firm.
Deloitte Haskins & Sells, which had been scheduled to audit Byjuice until 2025, stepped down in the interim “with immediate effect,” stating that “the company’s financial statements are too late.”
Last month, sources familiar with the development said Byjus had committed to the investor to close the long-term audit for fiscal 2022 by September and the audit for fiscal 2023 by December.