Tech Layoffs: TikTok plans layoffs as US e-commerce efforts falter

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, are preparing to lay off employees as the social media giant struggles to build a sustainable e-commerce business in the United States.

According to a report from Business Insider, TikTok has informed staff that it plans to announce “organizational and personnel changes,” with cuts expected to affect workers in TikTok Shop, the company’s e-commerce division. In a memo to employees, the company said the decision followed “careful analysis of how to create more efficient operating models for the team's long-term growth,” the report said.

The layoffs come as TikTok attempts to replicate its e-commerce success in Asia within the US market. Last month, Bloomberg reported that the company began replacing US-based staff with leaders from China, following its failure to hit a target of $17.5 billion in transaction volume for its American e-commerce business.

More than 100 employees at TikTok Shop in the United States have either been dismissed or have left the company in recent months, amid internal turmoil and confusion among managers that has made the workplace environment increasingly challenging, BI reported.

The shake-up arrives at a precarious moment for TikTok in the United States. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to ban the app over national security concerns, has for the third time this year delayed enforcement of a ban, signing an executive order that grants his administration an additional 90 days to negotiate a deal to bring TikTok under American ownership.

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