TikTok has announced layoffs affecting hundreds of employees worldwide, with a significant impact on its workforce in Malaysia. The social media giant confirmed the cuts on Friday, citing a strategic move to enhance using artificial intelligence (AI) in its content moderation processes. The decision aligns with TikTok’s goal to streamline operations and increase efficiency in managing its vast user-generated content.
Impact in Malaysia: Hundreds of Jobs Affected to enhance the use of AI
Sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that TikTok initially planned to lay off more than 700 employees in Malaysia. However, the company later clarified that fewer than 500 workers in the country were actually affected by the decision. Most of those losing their jobs were part of the firm’s content moderation team.
TikTok informed the affected employees of the layoffs through email late Wednesday. The job cuts align with the company’s broader plan to enhance its global moderation efforts using AI technology.
The company uses both automated systems and human moderators to review its content. The company aims to increase AI’s role in moderation. It believes this shift will improve its efficiency and effectiveness in handling content.
A TikTok spokesperson said the company is committed to strengthening its content moderation model globally. “We’re making these changes as part of our ongoing efforts to further strengthen our global operating model for content moderation,” the spokesperson said. The shift will allow TikTok to handle the growing volume of content more effectively, with the help of advanced AI technologies.
Investment in Trust and Safety
Despite the layoffs, TikTok has indicated its continued investment in trust and safety initiatives. The popular social media app plans to allocate $2 billion globally this year to enhance its content moderation and ensure a safer user experience. According to TikTok, around 80% of content that violates guidelines is already being flagged and removed through automated technologies.
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, currently employs over 110,000 people in more than 200 cities worldwide. This restructuring move, however, is expected to lead to further job cuts as TikTok consolidates some of its regional operations.
The company’s efforts to bolster AI-based content moderation come amid increasing pressure from governments around the world, including Malaysia. In the first half of 2023, TikTok and Meta faced a record number of content restriction requests from the Malaysian government. These requests often targeted posts related to sensitive topics, such as race, religion, and royalty.
