TikTok cuts about 60 jobs as January layoffs continue across tech industry

TikTok has cut about 60 jobs, CNBC confirmed, the latest tech company to downsize at the start of 2024.

A company spokesperson said all of those who were laid off “may apply to any open internal roles, of which there are over 120 similar roles posted currently.”

The job cuts were first reported on Monday evening by NPR. The ByteDance division characterized the layoffs to NPR as part of a routine reorganization that affected staff in sales and advertising who worked in the Los Angeles, New York, and Austin, Texas offices, as well as other global outposts.

Tech companies like Amazon, Alphabet, Unity, Discord and Trend Micro have all cut staff in January, continuing a trend from last year, when the industry slimmed down and slashed costs following an extended boom.

Earlier this week, Tencent’s Riot Games unit said it would cut 11% of its workforce, representing about 530 employees. In a letter to employees that was published as a blog post, Riot Games CEO Dylan Jadeja said the job cuts were necessary to “create focus and move us toward a more sustainable future.”

As of 2023, TikTok employed about 7,000 workers in the U.S. Meanwhile, ByteDance has a global workforce of over 150,000 employees.

In November, ByteDance slashed hundreds of jobs in the company’s gaming division, Nuverse. The layoffs indicated that ByteDance was scaling back its gaming efforts, an area where it’s been competing with Chinese rivals Tencent and NetEase.

“We regularly review our businesses and make adjustments to center on long-term strategic growth areas,” a spokesperson told CNBC at the time. “Following a recent review, we’ve made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business.”

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