Upgrad and Airbnb reduce workforce by 30%

Impartus Innovations

Impartus Innovations, a subsidiary of UpGrad, has recently laid off around 300 employees. This move reflects the cost-cutting and restructuring measures adopted by several edtech companies amidst the current funding crisis. The ed-tech startup acquired the video-learning platform in 2021.

As reported by Financial Express, the decision will affect around 30 per cent of the workforce of the video-learning solutions provider. This is the second round of layoffs coming from an Upgrad subsidiary. In December 2022, UpGrad owned Harappa Education also laid off approximately 70 employees.

UpGrad has made 14 acquisitions to date, including Harappa Education and INSOFE in 2022. The company subsequently launched UpGrad Campus, which offers educational institutions technology and resources to provide online courses.

Airbnb

Airbnb Inc has recently laid off 30 per cent of its recruitment team despite announcing plans to increase its workforce this year. As per a Bloomberg report, the job cuts are expected to affect 0.4 per cent of the total workforce, which currently stands at 6,800 people.

As stated by Bloomberg, in an official statement from an Airbnb spokesperson, the company took the tough decision to downsize and reorganise its recruiting team to align with its hiring plans.

This is the second round of layoffs coming from the hospitality firm which had also laid off around 25 per cent of its staff in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Bloomberg, Brian Chesky, CEO, Airbnb, and Dave Stephenson, CFO, Airbnb, previously announced their intentions to increase the company’s headcount by 2 to 4 per cent this year, which is a significant decrease compared to the 11 per cent growth seen last year.