China’s ByteDance is chopping the dimensions of its India staff and is uncertain when it’s going to make a comeback, the corporate informed workers in an inside memo on Wednesday, months after its standard TikTok video app was banned.
The transfer got here after India determined to retain its ban on TikTok and 58 different Chinese apps following responses from the businesses on points equivalent to compliance and privateness. The ban dates from final yr when political rigidity between the neighbours rose over their disputed border.
“We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived…we find that has not been the case,” ByteDance wrote within the memo to workers in India, seen by Reuters. “We simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while our apps remain un-operational…we don’t know when we will make a comeback in India.”
In a press release, Tiktok mentioned it was disappointing that regardless of its efforts it had not obtained a transparent path on how and when its apps may very well be re-instated. “It is deeply regretful that after supporting our 2,000-plus employees in India for more than half a year, we have no choice but to scale back the size of our workforce,” it mentioned, however gave no additional specifics.
At the time of final yr’s ban, the Indian authorities described the apps as “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India”. The transfer adopted a skirmish with Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border web site that killed 20 Indian troops.
TikTok had dedicated to spend $1 billion within the area. Before the ban it had change into one of many fastest-growing social media apps in India, as soon as its largest market when it comes to customers.
