At least a dozen workers 'let go with immediate effect'
TikTok has laid off employees in its trust and safety team worldwide, including a number of employees in Singapore, as part of its restructuring efforts, according to various reports.
Reuters reported on Thursday that the layoffs affected teams in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the United States.
While the report was unable to identify the extent of the cuts, The Straits Times said in a separate story that "at least a dozen TikTok employees in Singapore were let go with immediate effect."
Eric Tan, a trust and safety product manager in Singapore, was one of the affected employees.
"Today, I woke up to the sobering news that I was made redundant as part of the latest wave of layoffs at TikTok," Tan said on LinkedIn. "This wave of layoffs impacted multiple departments across Trust and Safety, including some really bright and passionate individuals I have come to know."
According to The Straits Times, affected employees in the trust and safety team in Singapore received a letter informing them about the internal reorganisation.
Tech Talent Assembly, an affiliate of the NTUC, told the Times that they are offering help to affected members who got laid off at TikTok.
The layoffs are part of the company's move for operational efficiency and to better align with its business needs, according to the letter, as reported by The Times.
TikTok's Trust and Safety team has 40,000 employees worldwide. It is not clear how this unit is distributed across its global workforce, as well as the number of affected staff.
The tech giant has been carrying out global layoffs in the past months. In October, it laid off 481 employees in Malaysia, whose manual duties are "increasingly handled by AI."
