TikTok, the popular social media platform owned by China’s ByteDance, has announced the layoff of hundreds of employees from its global workforce, including a significant number in Malaysia.
The move is part of the company’s strategy to shift towards greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) in content moderation.
Initial reports suggested that more than 700 jobs were slashed in Malaysia, but TikTok later clarified that fewer than 500 employees were affected.
Most of the employees impacted were involved in the firm’s content moderation operations. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that the affected staff were informed via email late Wednesday.
In response to media inquiries, TikTok confirmed the layoffs and explained that several hundred employees globally would be impacted as part of a broader initiative to enhance its content moderation operations.
The company 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.
While there have been a series of layoffs by global tech companies since last year, TikTok’s layoffs specifically brought to the fore the concerns about AI leading to the loss of jobs globally.
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, in a recent report, warned that AI would affect almost 40% of jobs around the world, replacing some and complementing others.
“In advanced economies, about 60% of jobs may be impacted by AI. Roughly half the exposed jobs may benefit from AI integration, enhancing productivity.
“For the other half, AI applications may execute key tasks currently performed by humans, which could lower labor demand, leading to lower wages and reduced hiring. In the most extreme cases, some of these jobs may disappear.
“In emerging markets and low-income countries, by contrast, AI exposure is expected to be 40% and 26%, respectively,” the IMF boss stated.