Russian cybersecurity giant Kaspersky is shutting down its office in the United Kingdom and laying off its staff, just three months after the company started closing down its U.S. operations and laying off dozens of workers, TechCrunch has learned.
Kaspersky spokesperson Francesco Tius said in an email to TechCrunch that the company “will commence a wind-down of the U.K. office operations, reorienting its business in the country toward the partner channel.”
“This step will enable our company to harness available business opportunities in the U.K. market in a more efficient manner, strengthening overall business prosperity. Our customers and partners in the U.K. will maintain full access to the company’s European team and its strong and well-established partner network, through which we will continue distributing Kaspersky´s industry-leading cybersecurity products and services,” the statement continued.
Tius said there are “less than 50 employees” in its London office.
This move to shutter its U.K. operations is the latest in a series of bad news for Kaspersky, which for years has been accused of close links with the Russian government — accusations the company has long denied. In June, the U.S. government banned Kaspersky from selling its products in the U.S. market, which led to the company laying off its workers in the U.S. and shutting down its offices in the country.
The sales ban forced Kaspersky to leave the U.S. market completely, and partner with a newly established antivirus company, transferring its customer base in the U.S. to a new company called UltraAV. Some Kaspersky customers were surprised to see that the transition meant that Kaspersky forced-uninstalled itself from their Windows computers, and instead replaced the software with UltraAV.
Kaspersky defended the controversial move, arguing that it had sufficiently notified its customers, even if it didn’t explicitly ask for their consent to switch antivirus software.