TikTok is poised to implement internal reforms, and that will include layoffs, Wired reported Tuesday, citing “five people with knowledge of the process.”
TikTok had plans to hire thousands of people in the United States and reached a workforce in the country of about 1,500 by mid-2020, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company said it had 1 billion monthly users in 2021, which has scared social media giant Meta into mimicking its algorithm and structure.
But even TikTok is not immune to layoffs and hiring freezes that have recently affected the tech industry.
Wired reported that these staff cuts would occur primarily in the UK, Europe and the US, and would involve eliminating open roles and setting aside plans to expand other teams.
A source told Wired that the layoffs could be as low as 100 people and that the layoffs “focused on people and teams that executives believed did not contribute enough to the company,” the media wrote.
Wired also reported that employees in Europe were told their jobs were in jeopardy and that human resources meetings were underway.
A former TikTok employee told the point of sale that TikTok is not the only one in this scenario.
“I don’t think what’s happening here with TikTok layoffs is any different than what’s happening in big technology,” they said.
Even Apple is under pressure: Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the tech giant plans to slightly curb spending and hiring certain sectors of the company next year.
Despite the fun of using the app, TikTok has a notoriously intense work culture. A former TikTok employee told the WSJ that he was bleeding from his pants instead of coming out of back-to-back meetings to get a tampon, for example. Sources also told the point of sale that they dealt with the intense environment because they expect an unexpected if the parent company goes public.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.