Amid fund crunch, Edtech major Byju’s has shut its largest office space in Bengaluru’s Kalyani Tech Park, as part of cost-cutting measures, according to a report. The office space is spread across an area of 5.58 lakh square feet.
Sources quoted by Money Control said the company has also vacated a portion of another office space in the city.
The report said Byju’s has notified its staffers to work from its other offices in the Prestige Tech Park and its main office situated on Bannerghatta Main Road or from their homes from July 23. The move is expected to save the company at least Rs 3 crore in monthly rent.
“Expansion and reduction in office space is based on changes in working policies and business priorities which is very regular and is aimed at boosting operational efficiencies," the outlet quoted a Byju’s representative as saying.
A week ago, Byju's came under the lens of the corporate affairs ministry, which has asked the office of the Regional Director in Hyderabad to inspect the books of the company. An official said that further course of action will be decided after receiving the inspection report. This came after the company was scrutinised over delay in submitting financial statements and concerns over corporate governance issues.
In June, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) asked Byju’s to clear PF dues, after it came to light that the company has paid PF only for 738 staffers.
Earlier, audit firm Deloitte resigned as an auditor of Byju’s citing a delay in submitting financial statements. Following this, three senior board members, G.V. Ravishankar, MD of early-backer Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India), Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus and Chan Zuckerberg's Vivian Wu, quit the firm.
Last month, Byju's CEO Byju Raveendran urged the employees to "rise above the noise" and added that the best is yet to come for Byju’s. Back then, in a call with shareholders, he had admitted his past mistakes and assured them that his learnings far outweigh any missteps.
In June, the company, which employs 50,000 people reportedly laid off nearly a thousand employees across different verticals.
—with inputs from agencies
