Adda247 lays off over 20% employees amid restructuring and IPO plans

The layoffs have impacted multiple verticals, including product, design, content, CUET (common university entrance test), and teaching staff in categories such as UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) and judiciary preparation.

The development comes at a time when Adda247, which has raised around $67 million to date, is preparing for a public listing over the next 12 to 18 months.

The sackings unfolded on April 30 at the company’s Gurugram office, where employees said bouncers were stationed and separate cabins had been booked for meetings with the human resources team. Several current and former employees told Business Standard that staff members were called individually into rooms and, in some cases, asked to resign immediately.

Sneha (name changed), who had moved to Delhi less than a year ago for the job, said half of her team had been removed. Tanmay (name changed), who worked at the firm for four years in business operations, said junior employees were largely told the exits were performance-linked, while senior staff were told the firm was restructuring and shutting some exam categories as part of a broader cost-cutting exerc­ise. “For many of us, it came without warning,” he said.

According to at least three sources, the layoffs could help the company save nearly ₹5 crore annually in salary expenses. Employees also pointed to slowing growth in some segments, declining traction in StudyIQ’s online business vertical, and concerns around the company’s cash runway.

At least six employees who were laid off said that they had not received their financial settlements.

In response to an email query, the company said the restructuring was across functions.

“As we scale and our user base grows, we regularly evaluate how our teams, structures, and goals are aligned to serve our customers better. As part of this process, we made some structural adjustments across the organisation to sharpen our focus, improve execution, and ensure we build around our learners’ needs,” the company said.

These decisions, it added, were aimed at ensuring that “we remain agile and continue to raise the bar on what we can deliver and how effectively we can deliver it”.

This was not the first major round of layoffs at the company. According to an employee wishing not to be named, Adda247 had reduced nearly 50-100 faculty positions in October-November last year as well, after which several educators were shifted to freelance or contractual roles. “The layoffs tend to happen twice every year — around March-April and again in October-November,” he said.

Employees also said the company recently shut down its Hindi-language CUET vertical, resulting in layoffs across that team.

Adda247 Founder and Chief Executive Officer Anil Nagar had recently said the company reported revenue of nearly ₹240 crore in FY25, with losses of about ₹70 crore. For FY26, he said revenue was on an upward trajectory and losses had come down.