TikTok plans more layoffs, Irish jobs likely to be spared

It is understood that the job cuts across specific global teams are likely to have minimal impact on the ByteDance-owned company’s Irish operations.

TikTok is planning another round of layoffs, this time affecting its global operations and marketing teams, as the social media giant continues to face a potential ban in the US.

A spokesperson confirmed the move to SiliconRepublic.com but specific details of the layoffs are not currently available. “Just like all companies, we assess our business on an ongoing basis and make necessary adjustments as part of our strategy for continued growth,” the spokesperson said.

However, because of the nature of the roles at risk, it is understood that the job cuts will have minimal impact on TikTok’s Irish operations.

According to The Information, which spoke to current TikTok employees in the US, the layoffs are expected to affect a large percentage of the roughly 1,000 people working across the company’s global user operations, content and marketing teams.

TikTok plans to disband the global user operations team, and employees that remain after the job cuts will be reassigned to other departments, the outlet reports, such as trust and safety, marketing, content and product.

This is the second time this year that the ByteDance-owned app has announced layoffs. In February, TikTok revealed global restructuring efforts that saw more than 250 people in Ireland lose their jobs. A TikTok spokesperson told SiliconRepublic.com at the time that the layoffs were a result of “a redesign of our training and quality team that will enable us to further enhance our quality assurance processes”.

Before the layoffs in February, TikTok had roughly 3,000 staff in Ireland, thanks to a hiring spree of 1,000 jobs announced in 2022.

“Our priority is supporting affected employees through this transition to minimise the impact of the changes,” the spokesperson said of the latest round of layoffs. “Ireland remains a hugely important base for us, and we’re continuing to hire for roles across our business here.”

The February layoffs were announced on the same day that the EU announced a formal investigation into TikTok over concerns that the company had breached aspects of the Digital Services Act.

Last month, the US Senate passed a bill that will ban TikTok in the country unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company ByteDance under national security concerns. Weeks later, TikTok hit back by suing the US government, calling the legislation “unconstitutional”.

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