New Delhi, Feb 5 : Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of embattled edtech company Byju's, has told employees that he has been moving mountains for months to make payroll and this time, "the struggle was even bigger to ensure that you receive what you rightfully deserve".

The company, which had delayed the salaries for the month of January, finally paid its employees over the weekend.

"I know you were told that you will get your salaries by Monday. Many of you wrote to me that you wouldn't mind waiting even more because you know what I am going through. But you did not have to wait even till Monday," Raveendran wrote to employees in an email seen by IANS.

"I have been moving mountains for months to make payroll, and this time, the struggle was even bigger to ensure that you receive what you rightfully deserve. Everybody has made sacrifices, everybody has grappled with decisions they never desired to make, and everybody is a little bit weary in this battle, but nobody has chosen to give up," he wrote.

Facing a severe cash crunch, Byju's Alpha unit in the US has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the US court of Delaware, listing liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion.

Meanwhile, Byju's has reportedly suspended its three-year deal with football icon Lionel Messi as a global brand ambassador.

Raveendran said in his latest email that when "we have self-respect, we have enough. I am not implying that these challenges have not shaken me. Entrepreneurs are supposed to be stoic and steadfast".

"To be clear, this fight is only against a few vested interests who were trying to sabotage the company by impeding the rights issue. Nothing has galvanized our team more than their effort to destabilise our company," said the company's founder.

"The world reads regularly about my daily struggles. But I will someday tell you about my monthly miracles. Over time, I believe that a hidden miracle accompanies every struggle; one has to keep moving forward," he added.

Think & Learn Private Ltd, the parent of Byju's, has said it will continue with the proposed $200 million rights issue after receiving encouraging responses from multiple investors.

/IANS