Simplilearn Lays Off 200 Employees; Cites Poor Performance

According to sources familiar with the situation, Bengaluru-based edtech startup Simplilearn has reportedly fired approximately 200 employees, citing poor performance as the reason. Employees at all levels were affected by the layoffs, with the sales team being the hardest hit, followed by marketing and operations. The downsizing initiative began last week, with layoffs beginning at the vice-president level.

While Simplilearn informed affected employees that their termination was due to performance issues, some claim the layoffs were abrupt, and the startup had not conducted recent performance reviews. Employees were allegedly summoned for one-on-one meetings with the human resources department, during which they were informed of their termination.

In response to the reports, Simplilearn acknowledged that performance-based exits do occur while declining to confirm the exact number of layoffs. "Our business is proceeding as planned, and we are hiring on a need-basis across teams," a company spokesperson said. “Performance-based exits do occur on occasion."

Simplilearn, founded in 2010 by Krishna Kumar, provides online upskilling courses for students and working professionals in areas such as cybersecurity, cloud computing, project management, and data science.