Byju’s will not be doing any layoffs, and business will continue as usual from its location in the Kerala Technopark centre.
Byju’s had previously chosen to lay off all of its staff at its center in Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram; however, the company’s CEO Byju Raveendran met with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, which resulted in the decision to withdraw the earlier decision.
Also, Labour Commissioner K. Vasuki IAS presided over a meeting with the employees, representatives of Prathidhwani, which is a welfare organization for information technology employees, and the management of Byju. During this meeting, Byju’s management made a commitment to rehire employees who had previously resigned from their positions.
It has been reported that this is the first time in the state of Kerala that the labor authority has taken action against an information technology company. The company, Byju’s in question had, overnight, given termination notices to over 150 employees.
Byju’s agreement with its employees
In an effort to win back the trust of its employees, the organization has committed to providing the workers with a formal guarantee that it will maintain business activities at the Technopark centre for a certain period of time.
After a discussion between the CEO and CM, the company decided to reconsider its reorganization plans and keep its development centre at Technopark, according to a press release.
Byju’s employees approach the Labour Commissioner
According to reports, most of Byju’s employees told that there was no written word regarding the layoffs and closure of the Technopark center until Tuesday, evening. It was not until when they received an email from a corporate representative offering to house the entire workforce in Bengaluru or provide a “progressive” leave package.
Prathidhwani, an IT workers’ welfare organization, contacted the Labour Commissioner and Labour Minister V. Sivankutty after employees complained about being pressured to resign “voluntarily”.
This was followed by the employees’ initial meeting of talks with the Labour Commissioner, during which the company’s representatives were absent.
On Wednesday, a meeting was conducted, and Jayadev, who is the vice president of Byju, was also present for the discussion that resulted in the decision to abandon the closure plan.
Vineeth Chandran, a secretary for Prathidhwani who took part in the talks, said that the welfare group has been working with IT professionals to stop management from being against their employees. He also added, “But this is the first time we could intervene in the closure of a unit employing 150-odd persons. We hope the decision taken in Kerala at the behest of the Labour Department, will have an impact elsewhere in the country where Byju’s has announced layoffs,”
What Byju’s- the organization decided
Byju’s sent an email to its employees and that mail stated that following the conversation between their founder and CEO Byju Raveendran and the Chief Minister of Kerala, they have chosen to continue operations in the Thiruvananthapuram development centre.
It also said that the Thiruvananthapuram crew has performed exceptionally well for them. Also added, the employees will remain in their current positions and work out of the centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
