Coursera Cuts About 150 Jobs Following Udemy Merger

On July 6, Coursera made a significant announcement regarding job reductions within the company, just eight weeks following the completion of its merger with Udemy. While the company refrained from specifying the exact number of employees who would be impacted by this decision, it did provide a financial range, indicating that the layoffs would incur costs ranging between $8 million to $11 million.

Upon further investigation into California’s official state records, it was revealed that 59 individuals had indeed lost their jobs as a result of these layoffs, with 31 positions cut from Coursera’s Mountain View headquarters and an additional 28 from Udemy’s San Francisco office. It’s important to note that California’s regulations mandate such notices exclusively for jobs within the state, suggesting that the overall number of layoffs may be larger than what has been reported thus far.

Class Central, a learning platform and research entity, estimates that when factoring in previous layoffs and the historical compensation the companies have disbursed per employee in similar situations, the total number of job losses could approximate around 150 individuals. Remarkably, this marks the fifth round of job cuts across both companies since 2022, indicating a troubling trend in workforce reductions.

The merger between Coursera and Udemy came to fruition in December 2025, after three prior attempts over a span of two years. The agreement formally closed on May 11, 2026, leading to Udemy becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Coursera. During the merger announcement, Coursera projected that this integration would “generate meaningful operating efficiencies,” but the latest layoffs suggest that achieving these efficiencies has necessitated significant workforce adjustments.

In a notable turn of events, Coursera announced a substantial investment of $100 million in a new artificial intelligence (AI) learning company, LearnVector, which was founded by Andrew Ng, a co-founder of Coursera and the current chair of its board. This investment indicates a strategic pivot by Coursera towards harnessing AI technology to enhance its educational offerings.

The Five Rounds of Layoffs

Below is an overview of the previous layoffs carried out by Coursera and Udemy over the years:

1. Coursera, November 2022

• Officially stated: No specific number released.

• Estimated Cost: $10.1 million.

• Estimated number of layoffs: Approximately 185 employees, with 77 in California.

2. Udemy, February 2023

• Officially stated: 10% of staff.

• Estimated Cost: $8.9 million.

• Estimated number of layoffs: Around 170 employees, with 74 in California.

3. Udemy, September 2024

• Officially stated: 280 people laid off.

• Estimated Cost: $15.5 million.

• Total layoffs: 280, with no formal notices filed in California.

4. Coursera, October 2024

• Officially stated: Initially 10%, later revised to 9%.

• Estimated Cost: $6.8 million.

• Estimated number of layoffs: About 120 employees, with 61 in California.

5. Coursera and Udemy, July 2026

• Officially stated: No specific number mentioned.

• Estimated Cost: Between $8 million to $11 million.

• Estimated layoffs: Approximately 150, with 59 in California.

Additionally, it is vital to highlight that, in January 2024, Coursera also undertook a restructuring of its Enterprise sales force, incurring further costs of $2.1 million, although this restructuring was not publicly announced—it only became apparent through routine SEC filings.

In California, companies are mandated to submit public notifications prior to executing significant layoffs, which is the source of the reported numbers in this context. The estimates provided derive from an analysis of the associated costs of each round of layoffs. Historically, Coursera has demonstrated a tendency to report lower costs than initially anticipated; therefore, estimates indicate an approximate cost of around $55,000 per displaced employee.

An Overview of Company Size & Future Plans

To provide some context regarding the scale of Coursera and Udemy prior to these layoffs, here are their respective full-time employee counts at the end of each year over the past few years:

• Coursera:

• 2021: 1,138

• 2022: 1,401

• 2023: 1,295

• 2024: 1,260

• 2025: 1,307

• Udemy:

• 2021: 1,238

• 2022: 1,678

• 2023: 1,443

• 2024: 1,246

• 2025: 1,380

• Combined Total:

• 2021: 2,376

• 2022: 3,079

• 2023: 2,738

• 2024: 2,506

• 2025: 2,687

Upon concluding 2025, the combined workforce of Coursera and Udemy stood at 2,687 personnel, meaning that approximately 150 layoffs represent about 6% of their total workforce. The peak headcount for the merged entities was recorded at 3,079 in 2022, but following these reductions, Coursera’s current employee count mirrors approximately the same size as it was just prior to its previous set of layoffs.

In the wake of these layoffs, Coursera has communicated that they are part of a broader strategy, highlighting a range of upcoming changes that may lead to additional costs and benefits beyond those mentioned. According to a presentation made to investors in June, Coursera aims to achieve annual savings of $115 million, though the estimated cuts could exceed $150 million, considering that an anticipated loss of $35 million in profits has been factored into the overall calculations.

The delineation of these cuts by Coursera identifies two main categories: reductions in sales and services, and the elimination of redundant corporate roles and IT systems. However, the company has not clarified the precise breakdown regarding how much of this is attributable to human resource cuts versus technology-related reductions.

In a recent update, Coursera has heightened its savings forecast to at least $85 million annually by the end of 2026, an increase from the $80 million forecasted in June, and it now anticipates reaching the full savings target of $115 million even sooner than expected, potentially before the close of 2027. While the layoff announcement in July marks a significant starting point in their overarching restructuring efforts, Coursera has been non-committal about whether additional job cuts are anticipated in the future.

The original article titled “Coursera Lays Off ~150 Staff After Udemy Merger” was published on The Report by Class Central.