TikTok parent shedding staff in India – Asia Times

TikTok app promoter ByteDance is trimming its staff in India after the Narendra Modi government decided to maintain its ban on TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps, multiple media outlets report.

The Chinese internet giant employs more than 2,000 people in India and has informed them through an internal memo about plans to reduce its staff strength. Media reports say over two-thirds of employees may get pink slips and only critical jobs will be retained.

In June last year, India banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser, citing national security concerns in the wake of a border clash between the two countries in May. Another 118 apps were banned in September and 43 more in November. The Indian government recently sent notices to Chinese firms, informing them that the ban on 59 apps, announced on June 29, would continue.

ByteDance told its employees that its prospects in India were uncertain and that the Indian government has not provided clarity regarding when TikTok could be revived in the country.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has criticized New Delhi’s app ban, calling it a violation of the WTO’s non-discriminatory principles and the fair competition principles of a market economy. “Since last year, the Indian side has repeatedly used national security as an excuse to prohibit some mobile apps with Chinese background,” the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi said in a statement.