Weeks after President Joe Biden signed the bill that could potentially ban TikTok, the ByteDance-owned company is facing layoffs.
On May 21, unnamed employees in TikTok’s global operations, content, and marketing departments told the Information that they will be laid off.
According to a message from TikTok executives viewed by the Information, those affected by layoffs are reportedly meant to be notified on Thursday, May 23.
How many TikTok layoffs are there going to be?
The Information claims that, in total, more than 1,000 employees work in the departments affected by layoffs. Employees anticipate a large percentage of these workers will be laid off. A small percentage may migrate to other teams.
This isn’t the first time TikTok has faced layoffs. In January 2024, a spokesperson for TikTok confirmed to AP News that the company was laying off 60 members of staff. At the time, the company said those laid off could apply for other roles.
Other creator platforms have also been affected by layoffs this year. Twitch laid off 500 people back in January 2024, which was preceded by 400 members of staff back in December 2023. YouTube’s support teams also faced a wave of layoffs that amounted to over 100 job losses.
So, there’s no dancing around it — the tech industry feels pretty bleak right now.
