Tech Layoffs: ClearTax fires 25% of employees, IIT freshers ousted within 60 days
Tech Layoffs: ClearTax fires 25% of employees, IIT freshers ousted within 60 days
Despite revenue growth, ClearTax lays off hundreds, leaving recent hires disillusioned and jobless
Bengaluru-based fintech firm ClearTax (now rebranded as Clear) has laid off around 25 percent of its workforce, with freshers from premier institutes like IITs hit the hardest — some let go just two months after joining.
The layoffs, which took effect on August 1, impacted approximately 145 employees, according to reports. Several young software engineers had only recently joined after Day 1 campus placements in June, but found themselves jobless before even completing their probation or receiving project evaluations.
One such employee, Anoop Singh, an IIT-Guwahati graduate, shared his shock in a LinkedIn post:
“This decision felt profoundly unfair. To have this opportunity revoked before I even had a real chance to prove my long-term value — feels profoundly unfair.”
Singh, however, clarified that he wasn’t seeking sympathy but connections and support. Like many others affected, he had declined other offers to join Clear, trusting the brand’s stability.
The company attributed the cuts to strategic restructuring, stating that the layoffs affected 16 percent of staff, including a “small number” of early-career employees. However, internal estimates and LinkedIn activity suggest the number could be as high as 25 percent.
This move comes despite strong financials:
- FY24 revenue nearly doubled, rising 93% to ₹209.84 crore
- Losses narrowed by 59% to ₹96.24 crore
Still, no fresh funding has come in since its Series C round in October 2021. Clear has raised $140 million so far, with backing from global investors such as Founders Fund (Peter Thiel), Sequoia Capital, Stripe, and Elevation Capital.
Founded as a tax-filing platform, Clear now offers services across finance, compliance, and supply chain automation for businesses.
The abrupt layoffs have sparked concern and criticism on social media, particularly because they’ve disproportionately affected fresh graduates, many of whom were counting on their first jobs to kickstart their careers.
