TikTok’s plans to cut hundreds of jobs were revealed on the same day that the EU announced an investigation into the company over potential DSA breaches.
TikTok’s global restructuring efforts are being felt in Ireland, as the company plans to cut a number of Irish jobs as a result.
The company has not confirmed how many Irish jobs will be lost, but sources told The Business Post that up to 300 roles could go from the restructuring plans. TikTok has roughly 3,000 staff in Ireland, thanks to a hiring spree of 1,000 jobs announced in 2022.
The social media company hopes to redeploy a majority of the impacted staff, which will mainly be from the company’s training and quality teams, The Irish Examiner reports. TikTok still appears to be hiring in Ireland, with nearly 200 Dublin roles listed on its website.
TikTok was contacted by SiliconRepublic.com for comment but did not respond at time of publication.
The announcement of job cuts came on the same day that the EU announced a formal investigation into TikTok, over concerns of potential breaches to the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The European Commission said the investigation is in response to a risk assessment report TikTok sent last year – as part of its obligations as being a ‘very large online platform’ under the DSA. Thierry Breton, EU commissioner for the internal market, said the investigation is being undertaken to ensure “proportionate action is taken to protect the physical and emotional wellbeing of young Europeans”.
More tech layoffs
Meanwhile, TikTok is the latest tech company to announce job cuts in Ireland, with the start of 2024 mirroring the tech losses witnessed at the beginning of 2023.
Last week, Cisco announced plans to cut 5pc of its global workforce – more than 4,000 jobs – raising concerns for its staff in its Dublin and Galway offices.
Last month, Tencent-owned Riot Games shared plans to cut 11pc of its workforce – 530 jobs globally – as part of adjustments to its business. Riot Games employs hundreds of staff in Dublin. Digital printing company Xerox also announced it is cutting thousands of staff this quarter, as part of a “reinvention” strategy that could lead to Irish job losses.
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