TikTok has announced it will lay off several hundred employees globally, with a significant number of job cuts expected to impact workers in Malaysia as the company transitions to AI-assisted content moderation. The platform, owned by China’s ByteDance, did not provide specific numbers for layoffs by country, but indicated that less than 500 jobs in Malaysia would be affected.
A spokesperson for TikTok stated that the layoffs are part of an initiative to enhance content moderation. “We expect to invest $2 billion globally in trust and safety in 2024 alone and are continuing to improve the efficacy of our efforts, with 80% of violative content now removed by automated technologies,” the spokesperson mentioned in a brief statement. The company employs a blend of human moderators and automated systems to review content shared on the platform.
This restructuring comes amid ongoing speculation about TikTok’s plans to significantly downsize its global operations and marketing workforce. According to its website, ByteDance employs over 110,000 people across more than 200 cities worldwide.
The layoffs also coincide with growing regulatory scrutiny on tech giants in Malaysia, following a rise in malicious content on social media reported earlier this year. In response, the Malaysian government has mandated that social media platforms apply for an operating license to combat increasing cybercrime, including online fraud, sexual crimes against children, and cyberbullying.
