TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, slashes workforce in India

Officials in India have decided to maintain a ban against TikTok and it will come at a great cost as ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, will be laying off workers in India.

ByteDance has just announced that it will be cutting off its more than 2,000 staff in India following the resolute stance of Indian officials to maintain a ban against 59 Chinese-owned apps, which included the popular video-sharing app TikTok.

The Beijing-based tech company issued a memo to its employees. It explained that it does not know when TikTok may be able to make a comeback from the time that the ban was imposed in June. The ban came after a skirmish in the Himalayan borders, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. ByteDance also said that it was initially hoping that the ban would not be long-term. However, it found that such was not the case, New York Post reported.

"We simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while our apps remain un-operational," a line stated in the memo.

Although the cuts were definite, the company did not categorically mention how many of its staff or what percentage of its employees in India would be losing their jobs.

Reuters reported that a statement from the company expressed its disappointment considering that despite its efforts, it still did not receive a clear directive from the Indian government on when its apps may be reinstated.

When the ban was imposed in 2020, the Indian government described the apps as prejudicial to India's sovereignty and integrity.

At the time, users of TikTok in the said country received a notification that informed them their data will be moved to an Irish subsidiary.

ByteDance did not only confront such issues in India. A similar situation also happened during the previous Trump administration in the US, wherein it ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok. The Trump administration then cited national security concerns as the reason behind such an order.

ByteDance cuts employees in India

TikTok also faced similar issues in Australia. It came under close scrutiny for a possible risk that it may pose to users concerning data privacy issues.

Before the ban, India comprised one of the largest markets of TikTok. ByteDance even bared plans to make a $1 billion investment in India in 2019.