TikTok, the popular social media platform owned by ByteDance, laid off several employees on its African team in June 2024 as part of a broader global restructuring effort. The layoffs, which impacted workers in content operations, marketing, and trust and safety teams, followed an initial round of cuts in March. According to a source with knowledge of the matter, more layoffs are anticipated in the third quarter of 2024.
Although the exact number of job cuts remains unclear, it is believed that over half of TikTok’s African team, based in South Africa and Nigeria, was affected. One insider estimated that the team had at least 100 employees.
TikTok declined to comment on the layoffs or any other aspect of this story.
While some reports have linked the layoffs to regulatory pressures in the United States—where President Joe Biden signed a law demanding that ByteDance sell TikTok within nine months or face a ban—an unnamed executive familiar with the company dismissed this explanation.
“The changes are not a reaction to anything,” the executive stated, explaining that the layoffs are part of an ongoing assessment of the business and necessary adjustments.
The Information reported that this is TikTok’s most significant layoff to date, noting that the company typically opts for smaller reorganizations across its teams.
TikTok is not alone in scaling back its workforce in Africa; other tech giants like Meta and Microsoft have also reduced their African teams, although they maintain that they continue to invest in the region.
