TikTok to lay off up to 1,000 operation and marketing employees as US ban looms

TikTok announced laying off its employees upto 1,000 employees around the world.

On Tuesday The Information disclosed this in a report citing several staff members. This is quite a shift in the company’s practices as it commonly sought to address its crises in phases – specifically, through stages of cost reductions.

ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is planning to do this in today’s tough climate after the recent legislation passed in the US.

President Joe Biden’s recent signing of a House bill that prohibits TikTok’s operation in the United States unless sold to an American company has put ByteDance in a tight spot.

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TikTok is taking legal action against US gov

ByteDance has initiated legal action against the US federal government in response to the ban. The company argues that the prohibition infringes upon the First Amendment rights of American TikTok users.

ByteDance has been adamant about not selling TikTok or its proprietary algorithm. However, current reports from The Information suggest that the company is open to considering sales that exclude the algorithm. This potential shift in stance comes as the company faces unprecedented pressure from the US government.

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The layoffs are expected to predominantly impact the content and marketing departments, according to anonymous employees who spoke to the tech news outlet.

Notifications regarding the job cuts are scheduled to be roll out late Wednesday and early Thursday.

TikTok also plans to dissolve its global user operations team responsible for user support and communication. The remaining staff members from this team will be transitioned to other departments within the company, including trust and safety, marketing, content, and product teams.

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TikTok’s presence in the US is huge, with around 7,000 employees based there as of 2023.

The platform boasted 150 million American users at the same time.

The US market is a major revenue generator for TikTok, contributing approximately 80% of its $20 billion revenue in 2023, as reported by the Financial Times on March 18.