TikTok, the social media giant owned by ByteDance, is making significant cuts to its global workforce as part of its transition towards more AI-driven content moderation. The company announced on Friday that it is laying off hundreds of employees, with a major impact on its team in Malaysia.
Reports initially indicated that over 700 employees in Malaysia were let go, but TikTok later clarified that the actual number was closer to 500. Most of those affected were working in content moderation roles. Employees were notified of the layoffs via email on Wednesday, according to sources who spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the matter.
TikTok confirmed the layoffs in response to inquiries from Reuters, stating that the move is part of a broader plan to improve its moderation processes. Several hundred employees globally are expected to be impacted as the company continues to restructure its operations.
TikTok’s content moderation system currently relies on a combination of automated tools and human reviewers to monitor and manage content on the platform. As the company increasingly leans on AI for this task, fewer human moderators will be required.
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, employs more than 110,000 people across over 200 cities worldwide, according to its website. One source indicated that further job cuts might be expected next month as ByteDance consolidates its regional operations.
A spokesperson for TikTok explained, “These changes are part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen our global content moderation model.” The company also highlighted its commitment to investing $2 billion this year into trust and safety initiatives, noting that 80% of content violations are now being handled by AI systems.
The layoffs were first reported by The Malaysian Reserve on Thursday.
We have helped 20+ companies in industries like Finance, Transportation, Health, Tourism, Events, Education, Sports.
