Unacademy’s PrepLadder lays off 150 employees, company cities poor performance as reason

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Unacademy told CNBC-TV18 that they did not conduct any layoffs and the staff has been asked to go as part of performance improvement programme (PIP).

“Based on the outcome of the recent appraisal, a very small fraction of the workforce was put on a performance improvement program, as is common for any organisation of our size and scale. The departure of these employees is a result of the PIP, which is a standard practice in all organisations,” a company spokesperson told CNBC-TV18.

The company further added that the affected employees have been given generous severance and support, like "garden leave" for the duration of notice period, additional payout equivalent to two months' salary, extension of existing medical/insurance coverage till mid-July and assistance in outplacements.

Founded in 2016, PrepLadder prepares students for medical examinations and provides access to education services and preparation material for exams such as NEET PG, AIIMS PG, NEET SS, and FMGE.

Unacademy has entered the physical tuition centre market, and is at loggerheads with coaching centre Allen Career Institute (ACI) that has alleged that the edtech platform poached teachers from its institutes. Unacademy is opening a coaching centre in Kota and has reportedly hired several teachers from Allen institute.

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