Sources with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday that TikTok, a short-form video app from ByteDance, had fired all of its employees in India earlier in the week.
According to the sources, up to 40 employees received a call on Monday informing them of their termination and were given the option of receiving up to six or seven months of severance compensation.
One of the unnamed sources claimed: It was communicated to the TikTok India employees that restarting India operations would not succeed due to the government’s stance on the Chinese app and that February 28 would be their last day. They were also given feelers to look out for other opportunities for some time.
Many employees at the India office switched their attention to working on the Dubai and Brazil markets after the Indian government banned TikTok and almost 300 other Chinese applications in June 2020 owing to worries about national security.
One more source reported:
The whole team was made aware. Anyhow, we were informed some time ago that business in India might be interrupted, therefore getting employment. Most employees will receive a 90-day notice period.
TikTok chose to close its India remote sales support hub on Friday. To better support their global and regional sales teams, according to a company spokeswoman. This hub was formed at the end of 2020.
The spokesperson thanked the staff and recognized their valuable contributions to the business. Additionally, they assured the workers would receive help throughout this trying time.
India was TikTok’s largest market outside its home country, with more than 200 million users.
Reels, a short-form video platform launched by rival business Instagram. Which Meta own after TikTok left, has proven profitable for them.
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