KOLKATA: Following the government’s decision to retain the ban on Chinese apps, TikTok developer ByteDance has decided to scale down its workforce in India. The company, which employs more than 2,000 people in India, is also unaware if or when the short format video app will be functional again in the country.

"We simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while our apps remain un-operational... we don't know when we will make a comeback in India," ByteDance wrote in an internal memo to staff, as reported by Reuters. "We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived... we find that has not been the case," it added.

Amid rising tensions between India and China, the NDA-led government had banned TikTok and several other Chinese-origin apps in the country last year.

ByteDance's interim global head Vanessa Pappas said that the magnitude of the decision is not easy. The management team has worked for the last few months tirelessly to avoid any churn from the team. However, the letter did not mention how many people will be let go from the team.

“We are evaluating the notice and will respond to it as appropriate. TikTok was among the first companies to comply with the government of India directive issued on 29 June 2020. We continually strive to comply with local laws and regulations and do our best to address any concerns the government may have. Ensuring the privacy and security of all our users remains to be our topmost priority,” a TikTok spokesperson said as reported by Mint.

Prior to the ban, India was the biggest international market for TikTok, which had amassed over 200 million monthly active users in the world’s second largest internet market.