Amid the ongoing ban on TikTok and Helo, Bytedance has issued cash bonuses up to Rs 4 lakh to employees in India. The company had earlier this month announced via an internal memo that it will be issuing a cash bonus to all eligible employees to help them overcome the "challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing macro environment."
All full-time employees who have worked for 26 or more working days between July to August are being given a bonus worth half their August base salary.
Bonuses for some mid-senior and senior employees ranged from Rs 1-4 lakh, the Economic Times reported, quoting people familiar with the matter.
ByteDance, which owns TikTok and Helo, has come under global scrutiny owing to its link with China and concerns about the collection of users' personal data.
The government on June 29 banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok and Helo from ByteDance. On September 2, the Centre banned additional 118 Chinese mobile applications, including PUBG. It said that these apps are engaged in activities that are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order".
ByteDance recently applied for a tech-export licence in China in line with the country's requirements, as it strives to seal a deal with Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc for TikTok's US operations.
China in August revised a list of technologies that are banned or restricted for export for the first time in 12 years. Experts believe that it is aimed at giving Beijing a say over any TikTok deal.
ByteDance has said that its deal with Oracle and Walmart, which will see the creation of a standalone U.S. company, needs approval from both the United States and China.
US President Donald Trump had ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok amid concerns that the personal data of as many as 100 million Americans who use the app could be passed on to China's Communist Party government.
