ByteDance retrenches about 500 people in M'sia

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has retrenched about 500 staff employed in Malaysia, Reuters reported.

Most of the employees were involved in the firm's content moderation operations.

The technology company confirmed the layoffs on Oct. 11.

It initially said it could not disclose the number of employees affected, but later clarified that less than 500 employees in the country were affected.

Informed via email

They were informed of their dismissal by email late on Wednesday, Oct. 9, sources not authorised to speak to the media said.

Two sources told Reuters the company is shifting its focus towards greater use of AI in content moderation.

The Chinese company employs automation and and human moderators to review content.

More to be retrenched

More retrenchments are planned for November 2024 to consolidate some of its regional operations, a source said, and it was reported that several hundreds could be impacted globally in its wider plan to tweak moderation operations.

Bytedance has over 110,000 employees in more than 200 cities globally, the company website stated.

"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 expects to invest US$2 billion (S$2.61 billion) globally in trust and safety in 2024.

Currently, 80 per cent of guideline-violating content are removed by automated technologies, the spokesperson said, as it works towards greater efficiency.

The layoffs were first reported by The Malaysian Reserve on Thursday.

The retrenchment exercise comes as the Malaysia government has asked social media operators to apply for an operating licence by January 2025 as part of an effort to combat cyber offences.

Mothership understands that these changes will not impact Bytedance Singapore.

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