TikTok is laying off hundreds of employees globally, with a significant number affected in Malaysia, as the company pivots towards AI-powered content moderation. On Friday, TikTok confirmed that nearly 500 jobs were cut in Malaysia, mostly in content moderation roles, following an earlier report that over 700 positions were impacted.
The layoffs are part of a broader plan by TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, to enhance its moderation operations. The company uses a combination of human moderators and automated systems to detect and remove content that violates its guidelines. A TikTok spokesperson stated that the layoffs aim to strengthen the platform’s global moderation model.
ByteDance employs over 110,000 people globally and plans further job cuts next month to consolidate regional operations. The company will continue investing in trust and safety, with a focus on improving efficiency through automation. Currently, 80% of guideline-violating content is removed by AI systems.
The layoffs come as Malaysia tightens regulations on social media firms, requiring them to obtain an operating license by January as part of efforts to combat rising cyber offenses. Earlier this year, the Malaysian government urged platforms like TikTok to increase monitoring as harmful content surged.
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