NEW DELHI: At least 27,000 tech employees at Indian startups have lost their jobs since the funding winter crept in last year, and the list is only growing.

Nearly 26,868 employees have been handed over pink slips by 98 startups, including unicorns led by the edtech majors, according to data by leading startup news portal Inc42.

At least 22 edtech startups have slashed 9,781 jobs to date.

In the first five months into 2023, more than 8,000 employees lost their jobs in India by nearly 50 startups.

Homegrown virtual events platform Airmeet sacked about 30 per cent of its workforce, or at least 75 employees, according to the report.

Corporate expense management platform Happay, owned by credit Card bill payment provider CRED, slashed nearly 35 per cent of its workforce as part of a restructuring exercise.

Another homegrown edtech startup Teachmint laid off over 70 employees, its second round of job cuts after sacking about 45 workers more than five months ago.

Chennai-based edtech startup Skill-Lync laid off employees as it consolidates operations across Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad amid global macroeconomic conditions.

The year 2023 has become the worst year for tech employees as nearly 2 lakh tech employees -- from Big Tech firms to startups -- have been sacked to date globally, as companies like Meta, BT, Vodafone and many others announced further plans to lay off more employees in coming months.

As per the data by layoffs tracking site Layoffs.fyi, 695 tech companies have shown the doors to around 1.98 lakh employees so far this year.