According to reports, Alibaba Group’s subsidiary UC Web is slashing staff in India after a ban on 59 Chinese-origin mobile apps that includes UC Web browser and two other products.
India outlawed the apps last month following a conflict between the Indian and Chinese forces on a disputed stretch at the border that resulted in life loss to both nations. India accused the app of threatening the safety and sovereignty of the country and termed the action as a “digital strike”.
UCWeb, which entered India a decade ago and ran the browser along with a news app and the Vmate short video app, told some employees via a letter that they were losing their jobs.
“This termination is on account of the ban imposed by the government of India on UCWeb and Vmate, hampering the company’s ability to continue providing services in India,” the company said in the letter.
In a statement, UCWeb said it had complied with the government order and suspended services but did not comment on whether it had shut down operations completely in India.
In India, UC Browser had 130 million active monthly users while it has less than 100 direct employees and hundreds of third-party staff, sources said.
Club Factory which is an e-commerce site is another app that has faced the brunt of the ban. It has decided to invoke a “force majeure” clause with their sellers in India – freeing them from contractual obligations.
A “force majeure” clause is a contract provision that relieves the parties from performing their contractual obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise, making performance inadvisable, commercially impracticable, illegal, or impossible.
The firm informed its 30,000 Indian sellers via a letter that, “We hereby wish to inform that all settlements with sellers on the CF app and website are hereby being put on hold until the ban of the CF app and website is lifted.”
India’s app ban requires Club Factory to exercise a temporary halt to business operations. The brand clarified in its statement that they are collaborating with the Indian government to resolves their queries and questions.
Following the ban, India has asked the operator of the apps to answer 77 questions including their censorship policy, if they lobbied influencers or whether they acted on behalf of any foreign governments.
