TikTok Ban: Short-video Platform To Trim India Team After Permanent Ban; Thousands Of Employees To Be Affected

The company’s interim global head while announcing the retrenchment in an internal letter said the magnitude of this decision is not easy, but the letter did not mention how many TikTok employees will be retrenched out of its more than 2,000 employees in the country.

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After the Centre extended the ban on TikTok, the Chinese short-video platform is now forced to cut down its India team. The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has issued fresh notices on January 25 to TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps to impose a permanent ban on these apps in India.

What did the company tell employees?

As per the report in business daily Mint, the company’s interim global head, Vanessa Pappas, on Wednesday wrote a letter to its employees sharing the update about the company’s retrenching plans with immediate effect.

The company’s interim global head while announcing the move said the magnitude of this decision is not easy. Pappas added, “For the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to avoid having to separate anyone from the company. We’ve cut expenses, while still paying benefits. However, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while our apps remain un-operational."

Even though there were reports indicating that TikTok India had also initiated the appraisal process for its employees despite the ban. Bytedance, the holding company’s revenues more than doubled in 2020 despite troubles in international. The company’s revenues rose to $35 billion, with operating profit rising from $4 billion in the year-ago to $7 billion in 2020.

How many people to be affected?

The company was not sure when it will be allowed to resume operations in India, but remained hopeful. The letter does not mention how many people TikTok will let go out of its over 2.000 employees in the country. However, TikTok employees have been looking out for opportunities since the ban was imposed, with Indian short-video companies looking to hire TikTok executives.

Why the permanent ban?

TikTok’s management had reached out to the Indian government several times, but failed to make any headway. It seems the government is not satisfied with the response/explanation given by these companies. Hence, the ban for these 59 apps has been made permanent now, according to Mint sources cited in the report.

Earlier in June, the ministry had banned 59 apps, including Bytedance’s TikTok, Alibaba’s UC Browser and Tencent’s WeChat, citing that they are ‘engaged in activities, which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order’.

The government has given time to the companies to explain their case regarding compliance to privacy and security requirements, before imposing a permanent ban. The companies have been asked to respond to a detailed questionnaire sent by the ministry. The apps were banned under section 69A of the Information Technology Act.