TikTok, owned by ByteDance, lays off hundreds of employees

Social media platform TikTok has announced its plans to reduce its workforce, with a significant number of employees in Malaysia expected to be affected. This decision comes as the company shifts its focus towards AI-assisted content moderation. Owned by China-based ByteDance, TikTok stated that it would cut hundreds of jobs globally without providing a specific breakdown by country. The company anticipates that less than 500 jobs in Malaysia will be impacted by this move.

A spokesperson for TikTok mentioned that the job cuts are part of an initiative to enhance content moderation. The company is set to invest USD 2 billion globally in trust and safety by 2024, aiming to improve the effectiveness of its efforts, with 80% of violative content now being removed by automated technologies. Currently, TikTok utilizes a combination of human moderators and automated detection to review content posted on the platform.

This restructuring follows ongoing speculation about TikTok’s plans to downsize its global operations and marketing workforce significantly. According to the company’s website, ByteDance has a workforce of over 110,000 employees located in more than 200 cities worldwide.

These layoffs coincide with increasing regulatory pressure on tech giants in Malaysia due to a reported surge of malicious content on social media earlier this year.

In response, the government of Malaysia has requested social media platforms to apply for an operating license to address the rise in cybercrime, including online fraud, sexual crimes against children, and cyberbullying.