Initial reports suggested 700 job cuts in Malaysia, but TikTok later clarified in a recent statement to Reuters that fewer than 500 employees were affected.
Globally, several hundred more employees are expected to be impacted by this restructuring.
The layoffs primarily affect content moderators, with TikTok looking to enhance its reliance on automated moderation technologies.
Currently, around 80% of content that violates TikTok’s guidelines is removed by AI, a figure the company hopes to improve. TikTok stated that the shift is part of ongoing efforts to streamline and strengthen its global content moderation operations.
ByteDance has a global workforce of over 110,000 employees in more than 200 cities worldwide. As TikTok consolidates its operations, more layoffs are expected in the coming months, particularly in regions facing increasing regulatory pressure, like Malaysia, where the government has tightened rules around social media operations.
TikTok plans to invest US$2 billion globally in trust and safety initiatives this year, as it sets out to improve both content moderation efficiency and security on the platform.
