According to sources, Harappa Education, situated in Delhi and bought by upGrad last year, has laid off 60 staff. According to Sources, the firings have mostly occurred in the company’s content sector. Harappa is the latest in a long line of Indian edtech start-ups to lay off 7,000 or more staff in the previous 10 to 12 months.
Another year, same old problems. India’s edtech sector is bleeding as funding dry up and demand for online education declines. Harappa Education, a Delhi-based higher-education and skill-based learning platform bought for Rs 300 crore by Ronnie Screwvala’s upGrad in July, is the latest to suffer a setback.
According to those acquainted with the situation, Harappa has laid off around 60 employees (or 30% of its 200-person staff). The layoffs, which were disclosed in the final week of December, mostly affected the content sector. Employees impacted have been given a month’s notice and no further severance compensation.
However, Harappa has yet to provide an official explanation for the firings. “This is the first round of layoffs, and there may be more,” a source added. “Team leaders have been instructed to communicate the decision to those who have been fired,” they continued.
“Job-linked upskilling is the future of lifelong learning for working professionals at every stage. At Harappa, we have built this expertise over decades of rich experience. Our programs, with their sharp blend of skills, will make the right connect across the US,” Ronnie Screwvala, Co-founder & Chairperson, upGrad, said in a statement at the time.
Harappa, which was founded in 2018 by Pramath Raj Sinha (the Founder and Dean of the Indian School of Management) and Shreyasi Singh, has 600,000 learners across B2B and B2C segments. Around 70% of these users were recruited during the previous year. “This year, we tripled our topline to about Rs 75 crore and are on the verge of profitability.” “We’re the only player in India that is genuinely focused on creating its own content rather than distributing other people’s products,” Sinha previously told Business Today.
Harappa also announced its US debut in November 2022, with aims to upskill 55,000 managers in three years. In its enterprise section, the portal claimed to have attracted 250,000 learners from 200+ firms.
It remains to be seen if the latest layoffs would impede Harappa’s worldwide expansion goals.
The company joins a lengthy list of Indian edtech firms that have laid off personnel in the recent 10-12 months. Among them are BYJU’S, Toppr, WhiteHat Junior, Unacademy, Vedantu, and Practically. According to a Tracxn analysis, edtech start-ups dismissed 7,000-8,000 employees over this time period. Many businesses, including Lido Learning, Udayy, and Crejo.Fun, SuperLearn, and others have all ceased operations as a result of the ongoing cash crisis and evolving consumer preferences.
