In the past, we have seen companies like TCS, Foxconn, Zomato and Snapdeal lay off employees owing to both automation and yearly reviews to relieve employees that do not perform well. Layoffs create a certain tension in the market when they happen in times of a weak business.
Twitter India also will be closing its development centre in Bengaluru, that specifically houses engineers in India. The move is expected to impact about 50-60 engineers at Twitter Bengaluru, that have been working in ZipDial, a mobile marketing platform, that was acquired by Twitter almost 15 months back.
Usually layoffs happen because of automation, or because of excessive losses to companies, however this one just seems to be because of lower profits and revenues. Twitter India did not exactly comment on the reason, and we’re unsure if it is because of a global review or a local review.
A spokesperson from Twitter said, “Engineering is a key part of our global company, and we continue to focus our programmes and efforts on improving the core product experience for our users, worldwide. We thank the ‘impacted’ individuals for their valuable contributions, and are doing as much as we can to provide them a respectful exit from our company.”
This is coming from Twitter, despite the fact that India is a huge and an important market for the company and it has seen an unprecedented growth here. However, Twitter also confirmed that this is a yearly business review and other departments and teams will not be impacted.
The Bengaluru office in total houses around 100 employees, and with the engineering centre closing down, the employee size will reduce by half of what it is. This also means that the investors are not satisfied with ZipDial’s operations in India and its contribution to growth.
“Video is the main advertising product for Twitter, which provides the highest engagement and return on investment (ROI) for marketers,” Deccan Herald states. For this reason, it is possible that Twitter has decided to do away with mobile marketing platform.
The social-media networking site has received criticism from investors in terms of revenue generation and a business review of ZipDial might have led to its closure in India. Twitter did not disclose the actual reasons and the number of people impacted but the news isn’t good for both the employees and well as its development centre in India.
Source: DH
