Overview

• On July 2, TikTok began notifying global e-commerce staff that their roles would be cut as part of a new efficiency-driven restructuring.
• The reductions span moderation, product development, and creator and seller support teams across TikTok Shop worldwide.
• This latest round follows multiple layoff waves since early 2024 after the division missed sales targets and saw order declines from new tariffs.
• Leaders from China and Singapore have increasingly supplanted US executives to apply AI moderation and efficiency models from Douyin.
• TikTok is negotiating with the US government under a 2024 law that could require ByteDance to divest its US assets by mid-September to avert a ban.