Chinese short-form video hosting social media platform, TikTok reduces African workforce in June 2024 amid global restructuring.
This development came barely a month after existing employees revealed that the social media giant announced plans to cut its workforce globally, particularly in its marketing and operations team.
Reports, however, indicate that the ByteDance-owned social media platform had already let go of some staff on the African team in March 2024, before the scheduled layoffs were announced in May 2024.
Compared to March, the layoffs recorded in June reportedly affected more people, including employees in marketing, content operations, and trust and safety teams.
While the exact number of the laid-off employees has yet to be determined, it’s over 100 people, according to the company’s employees. More than half of the members of the TikTok African team based in Nigeria and South Africa were said to be affected.
From all indications, that wouldn’t be the last of it as more layoffs are said to be expected in the third quarter of 2024.
Per The Information, this is the most significant layoff at TikTok, which typically favours smaller restructuring across teams.
Affected teams
When TikTok announced its layoff plan in May 2024, it was expected to affect staff who work in teams that handle user support and communications, as well as content and marketing.
With the layoffs, the company planned to restructure its global user operations team, reassigning the remaining staff across the trust and safety, marketing, content and product teams.
Before the announcement, the layoffs were said to have been in the pipeline for nearly a year, but recent employee turnover caused delays.
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Soon after the announcement, several publications linked the development to the company’s regulatory and political troubles facing the company in the United States where the app could potentially be banned.
However, the company’s employees allegedly refuted the claim. They said the company is simply reviewing its operations and making the necessary changes. TikTok isn’t the only multinational Internet company to slash its African headcount recently. Similarly, Meta and Microsoft have also cut the size of their workforce in Africa.
