Twitter, which laid off more than 90 percent of its roughly 200 employees in India at the end of last year, has closed its offices in New Delhi’s political hub and Mumbai’s financial hub, people familiar with the matter said. The company continues to operate an office in Bengaluru’s southern technology center that houses mostly engineers, the people said, declining to be identified as the information is private.
Billionaire CEO Musk has laid off staff and closed offices around the world as part of an effort to make Twitter financially stable by the end of 2023. Yet India is seen as a key growth market for US tech giants from Meta Platforms Inc. to Alphabet Inc. Google, which is betting on the fastest growing Internet arena in the world for the long term. Musk’s latest moves suggest that he attaches less importance to the market for now.
Twitter has evolved over the past few years into one of India’s most important public forums, home to heated political debates and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 86.5 million followers. Yet the revenue isn’t significant for Musk’s company, which also faces strict content regulations and increasingly savvy local competition.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An exodus of workers — many of whom have been laid off — since Musk’s takeover has raised questions about whether Twitter can sustain its operations and regulate content. Musk this week said he may need until the end of the year to stabilize the company and make sure it’s financially healthy.
Since the $44 billion acquisition, Twitter has failed to pay millions of dollars in rent on its San Francisco headquarters and London offices, been sued by multiple contractors over unpaid services, and placed auction off everything from bird statues to espresso machines to raise money.
Musk has also openly floated the idea of bankruptcy and cited a “huge drop” in revenue as advertisers fled over concerns about Twitter’s ability to purge unwanted content. The platform has also suffered significant glitches and outrage, most recently just this month.
