TikTok Sacks Workers As Focus Shifts To AI Content Moderation

Popular social media platform TikTok owned by China’s ByteDance, has announced laying off of hundreds of employees from its global workforce, including a large number of staff in Malaysia.

The company said on Friday that the move comes as it shifts focus towards a greater use of AI in content moderation.

Internal sources had disclosed that more than 700 jobs were slashed in Malaysia, but TikTok later clarified that fewer than 500 employees were affected.

Most of the affected employees were involved in the firm’s content moderation operations, sources familiar with the matter had disclosed.

In response to media inquiries, TikTok confirmed the layoffs and explained that several hundred employees globally would be affected as part of a broader initiative to enhance its content moderation operations.

Tiktok currently employs a combination of automated detection systems and human moderators to review content posted on its platform.

“We’re making these changes as part of our ongoing efforts to further strengthen our global operating model for content moderation,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

The company added that it projected to invest $2 billion globally in trust and safety this year, and will continue improving efficiency.

Currently, 80% of content that violates platform guidelines is removed by automated technologies.

While TikTok did not specify the exact number of layoffs globally, ByteDance, the parent company, employs more than 110,000 people across 200 cities worldwide, according to its website.

Sources indicated that further retrenchments may occur next month as the company consolidates some of its regional operations.