Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal slammed for wearing Rs 33,500 t-shirt during 'No Appraisal' meeting

Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal recently made headlines with a surprising combination of news and style. During a virtual town hall meeting, Munjal announced that the company would be skipping employee appraisals this year. What caught everyone’s eye wasn’t just the unexpected announcement but also Munjal’s choice of attire a Burberry T-shirt priced at Rs 33,500. This mix of high fashion and tough news sparked a wave of reactions, highlighting the contrast between the company’s financial decisions and the CEO's expensive wardrobe.

Reasons behind the 'No Appraisal' decision

Gaurav Munjal explained that the decision to halt appraisals stemmed from the company’s failure to meet its growth targets. "I think 2023 was an average year for us. But 2024, if not great, was above average. But we did not hit our growth goals," Munjal stated during the meeting. He admitted that it was a challenging decision, adding, "It's been tough, and that's why I have one bad news that we won't be able to do any appraisals this year." Munjal further noted, "I know I said that we will do appraisals two, three weeks ago, but when we started the process, we realised that we made a mistake."

Watch the video here:

Unacademy CEO shares news of no appraisal year while wearing a $400 tshirt
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Challenges Faced by Unacademy

The Unacademy CEO attributed the company’s performance issues to market challenges, headwinds, and declining revenue from offline centres. Despite these obstacles, Munjal assured employees that the company was not in danger of collapsing. "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." he said. Munjal urged employees to keep in mind that Unacademy is still thriving while many competitors are struggling. "We are the ones who are still standing while our competitors are going down one by one," he highlighted.

The Burberry T-shirt Controversy

What caught the public’s attention, however, was Munjal's choice of attire for the announcement. The Burberry Black Parker T-shirt he wore is priced between Rs 16,000 and Rs 47,000. Social media users quickly pointed out the irony of wearing such an expensive item during a meeting about no appraisals.

Recent Layoffs and Future Outlook

This announcement follows recent layoffs at Unacademy, where 250 employees were let go as part of a restructuring effort. Despite these challenges, Munjal's message to the remaining staff was one of resilience and optimism.

The combination of the high-priced Burberry T-shirt and the news of no appraisals has led to a mixed reaction, with many questioning the CEO's choice of clothing during such a significant announcement.

Here's how Social media reacts

• “These CEO's won't lower their own standard of living but rather stop appraisals for the people who are running their businesses,” wrote a user.
• Another wrote, "Just take a pay cut! That money could have been used for employee appraisals. The ratio of CEO's salary to an average employee's salary is still too huge."
• “Who told him to keep unrealistic growth rate goals? If they are not making losses, every employee should get a salary hike,” a third person opined.
• "These CEOs won't lower their own standard of living but stop appraisals for the people running their businesses."
• “This is the same guy who used to travel in private jets and said it is justified because his time is just that valuable,” another recalled.

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