TikTok parent ByteDance is cutting jobs in India months after the Indian government banned the app in the country. The company said it is unsure when it can make a comeback, Reuters reported, citing an internal memo sent to the employees on Wednesday.
The move came after India decided to retain its ban on TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps following responses from the companies on issues such as compliance and privacy.
The ban dates from last year when political tension between the neighbors 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 in the memo to staff 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."
Disappointing, Says TikTok
In a statement, Tiktok said it was disappointing that despite its efforts it had not received a clear direction on how and when its apps could 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 said, but gave no further specifics.
At the time of last year's ban, the Indian government described the apps as "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India". The move followed a skirmish with Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border site that killed 20 Indian troops.
TikTok had committed to spend $1 billion in the region. Before the ban it had become one of the fastest-growing social media apps in India, once its largest market in terms of users.
Once TikTok's Biggest Market Outside China
India was TikTok's largest market outside China, with more than 200 million registered users. ByteDance employed over 2,000 people in India, whose jobs were threatened when India slapped the ban on June 29.
(With inputs from Reuters)
