TikTok owner Bytedance has decided to lay off more than 2000 jobs in India after prolonged ban by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The short-video platform has also decided to wrap up business in India amid the permanent ban.
“We continually strive to make our apps comply with local laws and regulations and do our best to address any concerns they have. It is therefore disappointing that in the ensuing seven months, despite our efforts we have not been given a clear direction on how and when our apps could be reinstated,” a statement made by the company said.
The statement added, “It is deeply regretful that after supporting our 2000+ employees in India for more than half a year, we have no choice but to scale back the size of our workforce. We look forward to receiving the opportunity to relaunch TikTok and support the hundreds of millions of users, artists, storytellers, educators and performers in India.”
Founded in 2012, ByteDance claims that it’s mission is to inspire creativity and enrich life. With a suite of more than a dozen products, including TikTok, Helo, and Resso, as well as platforms specific to the China market, including Toutiao, Douyin, and Xigua, ByteDance states that it has made it easier and more fun for people to connect with, consume, and create content. ByteDance’s investors include Coatue, General Atlantic, KKR, Sequoia Capital, SIG, and Softbank.
Yiming Zhang is the founder and CEO of ByteDance. Yiming started several ventures prior to ByteDance, including Kuxun, which was later acquired by TripAdvisor—as well as the real estate search portal 99fang.
Arya has been a part of the Content & Research Team at Hrnxt.com. She is a keen observer of economic developments, emerging businesses, people in business and keeps a tab on latest happenings in the business environment.