TikTok Parent ByteDance To Downscale India Business, 2,000 May Lose Jobs

TikTok business may drain

The owners of video-editing, social media platforms TikTok and Helo app, Chinese social media firm Bytedance has declared termination of its business in India due to continuous closure of its services in the country. The prolonged boycott of Chinese goods and services in India led to ban of many chinese apps and softwares last year.

The decision has been communicated to employees through an email by Tiktok's global interim head Vanessa Pappas and Vice President for global business solutions Blake Chandlee. The company is planning to compress the team size and lead to recession of employees. This can last adverse impact on India. The company didn't opt to clear uncertain air on company's re-entry in India but gave an optimistic view on its comeback. "We can't assure our comeback in India, but we are firm on our resilience and will to make entry in time to follow," It said.

As per the sources in Bytedance, the company organised a town hall meeting on Wednesday where it forwarded the decision of downscaling the business in India. After holding talks with Tiktok spokesperson, they said that the company has made efforts to comply with an order issued by the government of India on June 29, 2020, banning major chinese apps. Company is striving to make its apps according to laws and regulations. "It is really disheartening and humiliating that in the last seven months, even after our undeterred efforts we are not able to see a clear picture of when and how our apps would be reinstated. We regret to announce that after supporting 2000 employees in India for more than half a year, we are left with no choice other than decreasing the size of the workforce," he said.

"We would be glad to work again with the country and get the opportunity to relaunch our services by giving a platform to millions of users, artists, performers, educators and story-tellers," the spokesperson added. The GoI in June 2020 blocked Tiktok and Helo app along with 59 other apps which haven't been lifted yet. "Although after cutting expenses, we paid benefits. But we can't maintain full staff status in the country where our apps are un-operational. We are aware of the distressful impact of the decision on employees and we are empathetic towards them," the mail read. The company has been forced to take such harsh action after the government's repeated refusal on restoration of banned apps.