Synopsis As many as 40 people were given the pink slips on Monday after a call and were told that they would be given up to nine months of severance pay, they said. AP ByteDance-owned short video app TikTok fired its entire India workforce earlier this week, sources aware of the development told ET on Thursday. As many as 40 people were given the pink slips on Monday after a call and were told that they would be given up to nine months of severance pay, they said. “The TikTok India employees were told that February 28 would be their last day and were given feelers to look out for other opportunities for some time as it was conveyed that restarting India operations was not going to take off because of the government's stance on Chinese apps,” one of the sources who did not wish to be named told ET. Several of the workers at the India office were mostly working on the Dubai and Brazil markets after the government banned TikTok and nearly 300 other Chinese apps in phases starting June 2020 citing national security concerns. "The entire team was informed. We were anyway told some time ago that business in India may be shut off, so look for jobs. Most people will be given 90 days severance," another source told ET. ByteDance did not respond to emailed queries till press time Thursday. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories TikTok had more than 200 million users in India at the time and considered the country its biggest overseas market. The app’s exit led to rival Meta-owned Instagram launching its own short-form video platform Reels , which has become a money spinner for the social media platform. Earlier this month, ET reported that TikTok's Sameer Singh , who joined the platform in 2019 to lead monetisation in India, was elevated as the head of global business solutions in North America. Singh was leading business solutions in Southeast Asia as the platform withdrew from India. His move to the North American market comes at a time when TikTok is being heavily scrutinized by the American government and calls for a blanket ban have become widespread. As per his LinkedIn profile, Singh took charge of his current role from January. He was head of global business solutions for APAC from July 2021 till January 2023, where he was responsible for leading sales and business marketing solutions across all TikTok business products in the region. Don’t miss out on ET Prime stories! Get your daily dose of business updates on WhatsApp. click here! Friday, 10 Feb, 2023 Experience Your Economic Times Newspaper, The Digital Way! Read Complete Print Edition » Front Page Pure Politics ET Markets Smart Investing More Adani Stocks Slip Again as MSCI Weighs Free-Float Tag Adani Group stocks plunged again following a two-day respite after global index services provider MSCI said the stakes of certain investors in the conglomerate’s companies should no longer be considered free-float, or shares that can be freely traded. Finance Lobbies Call on India and EU to Cut a Deal The letter, sent on February 8, said that it would be difficult to implement a plan B before April-end, the deadline set by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for Indian institutions serving as central counterparties (CCPs) in bond, equity and derivative trades. India Likely to Invite More Cos to Set up Semiconductor Units The Centre is likely to invite a “second round” of applications for semiconductor chip manufacturing in the country under the $10 billion incentive package, a person aware of the developments told ET. Read More News on tiktok layoffs tech layoffs tiktok india reels instagram bytedance business solutions Stay on top of technology and startup news that matters. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox. . . . more less ETPrime stories of the day Real Estate Interest rates are rising, so are rental yields. Is it the right time to invest in property? 8 mins read 3 insights to kick-start your day, featuring Swiggy’s “poor judgement” 3 mins read Strategy Stock Radar: Technical charts suggest HDFC Bank is likely to hit fresh record highs in next 3-6 months; time to buy? 3 mins read Subscribe to ETPrime.