ByteDance’s TikTok is laying off hundreds of employees The cuts come as the social network increasingly turns to AI for content moderation. The cuts do not impact employees in the U.S.
TikTok confirmed the layoffs and said several hundred employees were expected to be impacted globally as part of a wider plan to improve its moderation operations.
Who was impacted the most?
There is information that the Malaysian branch of ByteDance had laid off over 500 employees, reflecting ongoing global layoffs within TikTok.
The layoffs mostly impacted content moderation staff across multiple regions, including Southeast Asia, which were essential for upholding TikTok’s community standards and safety guidelines, relying on a combination of automated systems and human oversight.
ByteDance also laid off 450 staff at its Indonesian unit following a deal where it bought a local e-commerce firm and combined it with its TikTok operation. The technology firm is also planning more retrenchments next month as it looks to consolidate some of its regional operations.
TikTok employs a mix of automated detection and human moderators to review content posted on the site.
ByteDance has over 110,000 employees in more than 200 cities globally, according to the company website.