Mumbai, May 3: Amid the ongoing layoff season across global companies in the Tech sector, online higher education company upGrad has reportedly slashed its digital marketing spending. Reports also suggest that the Edtech startup has also tightened hiring and "allegedly" handed out lower appraisals to its employees amid market uncertainties.

The development comes as upGrad is looking to grow at the "right cost structure" amid the mass layoffs and economic slowdown across the globe. Speaking to the Times of India, co-founder and managing director Mayank Kumar said that the company has become more conscious as to how and where they are spending. Tech Layoffs: upGrad Denies Reports That It Is Planning to Layoff Hundreds of Employees.

Shedding more light on slashing digital marketing spending, he said, "We have stopped spending a lot on digital marketing, been very careful about hiring and have not added new roles in the last two quarters." The Edtech startup also said that the education company has been careful about hiring while ensuring that they don't add new roles.

Kumar also said that the company is focusing on making its existing employees more productive which explains why upGrad is hiring cautiously and not adding new roles. Amid the mass layoff season in the Tech industry, the Edtech startup also ensured that they raise the salary of their employees. However, it wasn't as promising as it was a year back or two. UpGrad To Hire Over 1,400 People by March 2023 Amid Mass Layoffs by Tech Companies.

" We did appraisals but were the percentages same as last year? No, of course that was not the case," he added. Kumar also said that companies are now cutting down on their spending in order to turn profitable. He further said that their objective is to grow but "not growth at any cost".

The development of upGrad tightening its hiring comes a few months after a report in March this year said that the education company has laid off nearly 30 per cent of its workforce at its subsidiary "Campus".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 03, 2023 04:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).