TikTok has announced that it will be downsizing its staff in India. This news arrives months after the social media platform was banned in the region, implying that the company might be withdrawing from the country.
According to TheVerge report, a TikTok spokesperson confirmed that the company is reducing its workforce in India. In the statement, the representative told TheVerge that “Given the lack of feedback from the government about how to resolve this issue in the subsequent seven months, it is with deep sadness that we have decided to reduce our workforce in India… [We] hope to get the chance to relaunch TikTok in India to support the hundreds of millions of users, artists, story tellers, educators and performers there.”
In other words, over seven months after the social media app was banned from the region, the company is finally downsizing the Indian staff. At the moment, it is unknown how many employees TikTok will be retained in the country. Furthermore, a source close to the matter also added that “most” local employees are planned to be laid off. Although, the company has yet to clarify the news.
Previously, India was a large market for TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance, with over 30 percent of TikTok’s downloads were from the nation. For those unaware, the social media platform was banned from the country back in June 2020 by the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology that accused the app on engaging “in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.”
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