TikTok has started to globally revamp its business which incorporates layoffs. The short-form video hosting app which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, hosts videos of 15 seconds to 10 minutes. With growth of users, the growth of employees also increased.
The app reached 1 billion monthly active users in September, regardless of issues with the Trump administration and China’s government. Additionally, TikTok currently has thousands of employees globally. It has become so successful that the app even influenced platforms such as Instagram and YouTube to create short-form video services as well.
However, according to corporate insiders, certain employees working in Europe were advised on Monday morning that their careers were in jeopardy and that they might anticipate invitations to meet with human resources staff in the upcoming weeks. A few UK employees were informed that TikTok will be experiencing job losses in several departments. Some US-based employees received news that their roles would be terminated when they reported for work hours later.
David Ortiz, former executive of TikTok and veteran of Snapchat wrote on LinkedIn yesterday that he was resigning from the company due to elimination of his position as part of “a much larger reorganization effort.”
In recent weeks, as concerns about an economic slowdown have grown, TikTok has joined the ranks of well-known internet firms and startups that have suspended hiring or implemented layoffs. The company recently gave up ambitions to bring its live shopping platform, TikTok Shop, to the United States and Europe, which was viewed as a significant new revenue generator.
“I don’t think what’s happening here with TikTok’s layoffs is any different to what’s going on in big tech,” a former employee says.
Another TikTok employee claims that managers targeted the layoffs to specific people and teams they felt were not contributing enough to the business and that they expected less than 100 people to be let go. TikTok is said to have at least 10,000 employees across the US and Europe, according to prior statements by the company.
In regards to the revamping of the app, Brendan Gahan, a partner and chief social officer at a New York marketing agency called Mekanism, feels that it will not impact TikTok. “I can’t imagine that a few layoffs is a sign of broader troubles or anything that’s going to slow their momentum,” said Gahan.
