Paytm, Byju’s employees on a job hunt! Around 13,500 actively looking for new jobs amidst challenges | India Business News

Paytm, Byju’s crisis: About 13,500 employees from Byju’s and Paytm, two major Indian startups, are seeking new jobs due to increased investor scrutiny and regulatory hurdles.
According to an ET report, the staffing firm Xpheno partnered with well-known job boards to reveal that many professionals from Paytm and Byju’s are actively seeking new jobs. Over 6,500 individuals from Paytm and about 7,000 from Byju’s are pursuing new opportunities.
Byju’s, previously India’s most valuable startup valued at $22 billion less than two years ago, has faced multiple challenges. These include financial issues, legal conflicts, reduced valuation, and calls from investors for leadership changes. As a result, there has been an increase in employee turnover due to layoffs and salary delays.
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For Paytm, challenges escalated significantly when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ordered Paytm Payments Bank to halt all banking services within a month. This intensified uncertainties regarding the company’s future. On Monday, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das stated that there would be no immediate reconsideration of the imposed restrictions.

The challenging conditions in both companies have greatly affected employee morale, leading many to seek job opportunities elsewhere. Recent data shows a significant rise in job seekers from both Byju’s and Paytm, especially in the last two weeks.
An anonymous recruiter was quoted as saying that Byju’s transitioned from a period of success to facing an existential crisis. Paytm, renowned for revolutionising digital payments in India, now confronts uncertainty about its future. Consequently, it is understandable that employees are actively seeking opportunities elsewhere.
Two months ago, Paytm had between 800 to 1,200 active job seekers, but in the past two weeks alone, Xpheno data indicates that nearly 5,000 more employees have joined the job search. Over 70% of Paytm’s total active job seekers have become active in the last 10 days.
Similarly, at Byju’s, the number of active job seekers has surged from 2,000 to 3,000 levels two months ago. Recent data shows that in the past two weeks, an additional 5,000 employees have started looking for new opportunities.
Despite more candidates available, job seekers face challenges due to slower hiring in the startup sector. Recruiters observe that while many candidates are open to lower salaries, ongoing economic uncertainties and margin pressures lead companies to be cautious in hiring.
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Prasadh M S, head of workforce research at Xpheno, said, “The current job market, with sustained headwinds and macroeconomic uncertainties, is clearly tough for job-seeking lateral and fresher talent alike.” He further added, “Margin pressures have pushed enterprises to kick in austerity measures and talent action is set to remain conservative for a couple of more quarters.”
Furthermore, Prasadh mentioned that both tech and non-tech startups have had minimal hiring demand for more than five quarters. This trend extends to edtech and fintech ventures as well. He explained that challenges related to funding, governance, and product relevance have exacerbated the situation for leading companies in these sectors.
An anonymous CEO of an edtech company revealed that they have received numerous resumes, with a significant portion coming from Byju’s employees. However, the CEO emphasised the importance of cost vigilance, stating that companies are feeling pressure to demonstrate profitability.
In response to inquiries, Paytm reaffirmed its commitment to supporting its employees through internal job portals and continuous efforts toward financial inclusion. However, Byju’s remained unresponsive at the time of publication.
In response to queries, Paytm emphasised its dedication to empowering its employees. A company spokesperson stated, “As a standard practice, we have an internal job portal where employees can look for opportunities within the Paytm ecosystem. While employees at any organisation have the right to pursue their career goals, we are all working stronger day and night to drive our larger goal of financial inclusion. Our appraisal cycles also stand unimpacted due to the directives on our associate bank.”
According to Xpheno’s data, over three-fourths of employees from Byju’s and Paytm seeking new opportunities fall within the Rs 5-10 lakh salary range. Additionally, employees with less than four years of experience make up approximately 65% of the available talent pool at Byju’s and about 42% at Paytm.