Social media platform TikTok is laying off hundreds of employees from its global workforce, including a large number of staff in Malaysia, the company said on Friday, as it shifts focus to greater use of artificial intelligence in content moderation.
Two sources familiar with the matter previously told Reuters that more than 700 jobs had been cut in Malaysia. TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, later clarified that fewer than 500 employees in the country were affected.
The employees, most of whom were involved in the company’s content moderation operations, were notified of their termination by email late Wednesday, said the sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
In response to Reuters queries, TikTok confirmed the layoffs and said it expected to affect several hundred employees globally as part of a broader plan to improve moderation.
TikTok uses a combination of automated detection and human moderators to review content posted on the site.
ByteDance has more than 110,000 employees in more than 200 cities worldwide, according to the company’s website.
The technology company is also planning additional layoffs next month as it seeks to consolidate some of its regional operations, one of the sources said.
“We are making these changes as part of our ongoing efforts to further strengthen our global operating model for content moderation,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.
The company expects to invest $2 billion (roughly 16,812 crore rupees) globally this year in trust and security and will continue to improve efficiency, with 80 percent of content that violates guidelines now being removed by automated technologies, the spokesperson said.
The layoffs were first reported by business portal The Malaysian Reserve on Thursday.
The job cuts come as global technology companies face increased regulatory pressure in Malaysia, where the government has asked social media operators to apply for work permits by January as part of efforts to combat cybercrime.
Malaysia reported a sharp rise in harmful content on social media earlier this year and called on companies including TikTok to step up monitoring of their platforms.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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