Skill-Lync, an Indian startup offering upskilling programs, has laid off 20% of its workforce, or around 225 employees, to reduce operational costs amid the ongoing, global funding crunch for startups.
This is the second round of layoffs at Skill-Lync in 2023, following reports that the company laid off over 400 employees in late April.
Skill-Lync co-founder Suryanarayanan Paneerselvam confirmed the layoffs and told TechCrunch that they were a strategic decision to “streamline operations and limit future content and production investments.”
“This decision was not taken lightly, and we have done our utmost to ensure that the process was as transparent and fair as possible for the employees involved,” he said.
Paneerselvam also confirmed that the layoffs did not impact any C-level positions at Skill-Lync. He added that the startup was on track to achieve operational profitability by Q4 2023.
Following the latest round of layoffs, Skill-Lync has a headcount of approximately 900 employees.
Skill-Lync was founded in 2017 by Paneerselvam and Sarangarajan V. The company offers a variety of upskilling programs, including courses in data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and software engineering.
Skill-Lync has raised a total of $20 million in funding, including a $17.5 million Series A round led by Iron Pillar in 2021.
The layoffs at Skill-Lync are a sign of the challenges facing the Indian startup ecosystem. The funding market has slowed down significantly in recent months, and many startups are struggling to raise money.
In addition, the online education market is facing some headwinds. The pandemic-driven surge in demand for online courses has started to wane, as people return to in-person learning.
Despite these challenges, Skill-Lync is still a well-funded startup with a strong team. The company is confident that it will be able to achieve profitability in the near future.
