Russian cyber security giant Kaspersky is closing its UK office and laying off staff. The company suspended its operations in the United States 3 months ago and laid off dozens of employees.
Kaspersky spokesman Francesco Tius said in an email to TechCrunch that the company has begun closing its UK office and will restructure its operations in the country through partner channels.
"This step will contribute to our company's more effective assessment of business opportunities in the UK market and overall business development. Our UK customers and partners will have full access to Kaspersky's European team and strong partner network. Through this network, we will continue to provide Kaspersky's advanced cybersecurity products and services,” said Tius.
It is noted that less than 50 employees work in the London office.
Kaspersky's UK shutdown is one of a string of negative news for the company. Although the company has been accused of having close ties with the Russian government for years, it has always denied these accusations. In June, the U.S. government banned Kaspersky from selling its products in the U.S. market, prompting the company to pull out of the U.S. altogether and lay off workers.
Forced to withdraw from the US market, Kaspersky cooperated with a newly formed antivirus company and transferred its customers to a new company called UltraAV. Some Kaspersky users have noticed that this switch automatically removes Kaspersky from their devices and installs UltraAV instead.
Kaspersky defended this move and said that it gave its customers enough notice, but admitted that they did not receive explicit consent to change the program.
