ByteDance to cut more than 700 jobs in Malaysia in shift to AI moderating, sources say By Reuters
Written by Rozanna Latiff
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – China's ByteDance, the parent of social media platform TikTok, has laid off more than 700 workers at its Malaysian unit as the company focuses on greater use of AI in content moderation, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. .
The employees, most of whom were involved in managing the company's content, were notified by email of their dismissal on Wednesday night, the sources said, asking not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
In response to questions from Reuters, TikTok confirmed the layoffs on Friday, but said it could not provide an accurate figure for the number of affected employees in Malaysia.
It expects several hundred to be affected around the world as part of a broader plan to improve its oversight functions. TikTok uses a combination of automated detection and human moderators to review content posted on the site.
Bytedance has more than 110,000 employees in more than 200 cities around the world, according to the company's website.
The technology company also plans to lay off more people next month as it looks to consolidate some of its operations in the region, one of the sources said.
“We are making these changes as part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen our global operating model for content moderation,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.
The company expects to invest $2 billion globally in trust and security this year and will continue to improve efficiency, as 80% of content that violates the guidelines is now removed by automated technology, the spokesperson said.
The layoffs were first reported by business website Malaysian Reserve on Thursday.
The job cuts come as tech firms around the world face increased regulatory pressure in Malaysia, where the government asked social media operators to apply for licenses in January as part of an effort to combat cybercrime.
Malaysia reported a sharp increase in dangerous content on social media earlier this year and urged firms, including TikTok, to increase vigilance on their platforms.
