Watch: Unacademy CEO Declares No Salary Hikes In $400 Burberry T-Shirt

Unacademy employees will not receive salary appraisals this year, according to an announcement made by CEO Gaurav Munjal at the company’s recent virtual town hall meeting. The news, delivered while Munjal wore a $400 Burberry T-shirt, sparked significant criticism on social media.

Munjal explained that Unacademy failed to meet its growth targets, necessitating the decision to forego appraisals. “I think 2023 was an average year for us. But 2024, if not great, was above average. However, we did not hit our growth goals. The good part is that the burn is extremely low now, and we have a huge runway. And I kept saying that we don’t have a survival risk,” Munjal said during the town hall.

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Unacademy CEO shares news of no appraisal year while wearing a $400 tshirt
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The CEO cited challenging market conditions, headwinds, and decreasing revenue from offline centers as key factors for not meeting targets. “It’s been tough, and that’s why I have one bad news: we won’t be able to do any appraisals this year. I know I said that we will do appraisals two, three weeks ago, but when we started the process, we realized that we made a mistake,” Munjal added.

Acknowledging that some employees have gone two years without appraisals, Munjal urged his workforce to focus on the bigger picture. “We are the ones who are still standing while our competitors are going down one by one,” he said.

Social media reactions were swift and critical, especially regarding Munjal’s choice of apparel during the announcement. A Reddit user shared a snippet from the town hall, highlighting Munjal’s expensive T-shirt, which retails between $200 to $570 online.

One user commented, “These CEOs won’t lower their own standard of living but rather stop appraisals for the people who are running their businesses.” Another recalled, “This is the same guy who used to travel in private jets and said it is justified because his time is just that valuable.” A third opined, “Who told him to keep unrealistic growth rate goals? If they are not making losses, every employee should get a salary hike.”

The announcement of a no-appraisal year follows closely after Unacademy laid off 250 employees as part of efforts to streamline operations.