Bytedance lays off staffers amid no respite from TikTok ban in India

After supporting staffers for over half a year after the ban in India, TikTok has decided to scale back the size of their 2000+ workforce.

Expressing how operations in the country are no longer feasible at the scale they were at before the ban, Bytedance, the company that owns TikTok, has decided to lay off a significant number of staffers from their 2000+ workforce in the country. Only staffers involved in critical operations would be retained. The company hopes to relaunch if and when the ban on TikTok is lifted in the country.

In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said: “We have worked steadfastly to comply with the Government of India order issued on June 29, 2020. 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."

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"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," they added.

After TikTok's ban in the country, a lot had changed in the world of digital campaigns and platforms. Both Instagram and YouTube have added features to the platform wherein users could create and share 15-second videos. Quite a few new platforms have also cropped up in the country, vying for the attention of creators, users, and brands alike.

With so many staffers being laid off, the future of TikTok does look uncertain and only time could tell if they would be able to make a comeback in the country.