Teachmint
Bengaluru-based Teachmint, an edtech startup, has conducted its second round of layoffs due to funding challenges, joining the growing list of startups taking this step. According to insiders, the company has laid off more than 70 employees, with the top management, including the founders, informing employees about the decision in a town hall meeting held on May 4, 2023. The layoffs affected employees in talent acquisition, technology, and other departments.
This is not the first time Teachmint has undertaken such a restructuring effort; it laid off around 45 employees five months earlier. The company’s net loss for FY22 rose by 24 times to INR 131.7 crore from INR 5.5 crore in FY21. In March, the startup’s co-founder and CTO, Anshuman Kumar, resigned from his position.
According to the company spokesperson, “Some roles have been unfortunately impacted as we work on increasing structural efficiencies in our operations. We have proactively communicated to the impacted colleagues and are working on providing them comprehensive support.”
Furthermore they added that they are committed to supporting their employees during times of need. To that end, the company offer several forms of assistance. For a period of three months, they provide financial aid to cover payroll. In addition, they extend health insurance benefits for six months beyond an employee’s departure. The company also offer continued access to a mental health counselor to ensure the well-being of the team members. For eligible team members, they accelerate the vesting of their ESOPs to nine months. Finally, they provide outplacement support to help those who have left their company find their next opportunity.
Apple
Amidst the global economic downturn and widespread tech layoffs, Apple has announced that it considers mass layoffs to be a final option for the company. While the tech giant is cutting costs and slowing hiring, Cook emphasised that layoffs are not currently on the table and that Apple is being extremely cautious with its hiring practises. The company has reduced the pace of hiring but is still bringing on new employees. In early April, Apple reportedly laid off a small number of employees in its corporate retail division and delayed bonuses.
Apple’s conservative hiring practises during the pandemic have put the company in a stronger position to avoid layoffs compared to other tech giants. Despite the economic challenges, Apple reported record revenue of $94.8 billion for the March quarter, largely driven by strong iPhone sales. The company also achieved all-time revenue records in its services division, with over 975 million paid subscriptions. While Apple is finding ways to save on spending, Cook emphasised that the company remains bullish about its future and is continuing to invest in growth.
Rapid
Rapid, formerly known as RapidAPI, a US-based start-up, has been in the spotlight for reducing its workforce. The company laid off 50 percent of its staff in April, followed by another round of layoffs that affected all remaining employees in Europe and some in the US, resulting in an overall 82 percent reduction in headcount since April, as per IANS. The layoffs were reportedly carried out in a hasty and chaotic manner without offering any support to the affected employees. Some terminations were issued incorrectly and later revoked, leading to further confusion.
Rapid was founded in 2015 by a 17-year-old entrepreneur named Iddo Gino to assist businesses in discovering and integrating third-party application programming interfaces (APIs) and managing their internal API usage.
