TikTok, the popular social media platform, has announced that it will be laying off hundreds of employees from its global workforce, with many job cuts occurring in Malaysia.
This move, disclosed on Friday, reflects the company’s strategic shift towards using artificial intelligence more effectively for content moderation.
As reported by Reuters, two sources familiar with the situation revealed that over 700 jobs had been cut in Malaysia.
However, TikTok, which China’s ByteDance owns, later clarified that fewer than 500 employees in the country were actually impacted. Most of the affected employees engaged in content moderation were notified of their redundancies via email late on Wednesday.
The sources, who wished to remain anonymous, were not authorised to speak to the media.
In reply to questions from Reuters, TikTok acknowledged the job cuts, indicating that several hundred employees globally would be impacted as part of a broader strategy to improve its moderation processes.
The platform evaluates content uploaded to it using a combination of automated detection systems and human moderators. According to the company’s website, ByteDance has over 110,000 employees in more than 200 cities worldwide.
Additionally, according to one of the sources, the technology firm is planning further job reductions next month as it aims to consolidate some of its regional operations.
“We’re making these changes as part of our ongoing efforts to further strengthen our global operating model for content moderation,” a spokesperson for TikTok stated.
The company plans to invest approximately $2 billion (about £1.64 billion, €1.88 billion, AUD 3.4 billion, CAD 2.37 billion) in trust and safety initiatives this year and aims to enhance efficiency. The spokesperson added that 80% of content that violates guidelines is now removed by automated technologies.
The business portal first reported these layoffs at The Malaysian Reserve on Thursday.
The job cuts come at a time when global technology firms are facing increased regulatory scrutiny in Malaysia, where the government has mandated that social media operators apply for an operating licence by January in a bid to combat cybercrimes.
ASIO chief had previously issued a warning regarding the implications of social media for national security.