Employees of beleaguered edtech company Byju’s have received their salaries for the month of January after a delay of a few days.
In a letter to the employees, Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of the company, said he had been moving mountains for months to make payroll.
According to Moneycontrol, the letter from Raveendran read: “I know you were told that you will get your salaries by Monday. You did not have to wait even till Monday. I have been moving mountains for months to make payroll, and this time, the struggle was even bigger to ensure that you receive what you rightfully deserve."
The salary was delayed despite Raveendran's assurance in December that the employees would receive their salaries on the first of every month.
Senior management of the company had said there was "slight delay in salary disbursements" because of an "artificially induced crisis by select investors."
Byju's had accused investors of conspiring to oust Raveendran at the time of crisis.
A few days ago, at least six BYJU's investors called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to address issues at the edtech major and oust founders from having control over the firm. The investors, led by Dutch investment firm Prosus, in the EGM notice requested the resolution of the outstanding governance, financial mismanagement and compliance issues, and the reconstitution of the Board of Directors.
"Think & Learn Pvt Ltd has noted with sorrow, statements from a select few investors calling for an EGM to replace founder and group CEO Byju Raveendran. Under these unfortunate circumstances, we would emphasise that the shareholder's agreement does not give them the right to vote on CEO or management change," the company said in a statement, hitting out at the investors.
"The company is gladdened by the support received by a wide section of its shareholders. The criticality of the rights issue has been shared with all shareholders, with capital being pivotal for a successful turnaround. Unfortunately, the company and our employees are paying the price for a stand-off triggered by some investors," Byju's said.
