TikTok lays off employees in Nigeria, South Africa, others

• Published On: 12 August 2024 at 18:45

TikTok laid off several employees from its African team as part of a larger wave of global layoffs announced earlier this year.

The ByteDance-owned company began trimming roles within the African team as early as March 2024, before officially notifying employees of the impending layoffs in May.

The June layoffs affected several departments, including content operations, marketing, and trust and safety, with additional cuts expected in the third quarter of 2024, according to sources. Although the exact number of affected employees is unknown, it is believed that more than half of the African team, which includes at least 100 members based in South Africa and Nigeria, were laid off.

Some media outlets speculated that the layoffs were related to TikTok's ongoing regulatory issues in the United States.

This comes after President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a possible ban in the United States. However, an unnamed TikTok executive refuted this narrative, saying, "The changes are not in response to anything. It is a function of continuously assessing the business and making necessary changes.

According to The Information, this is TikTok's largest round of layoffs to date, despite the fact that the company has previously preferred smaller team reorganisations.

TikTok is not alone in reducing its workforce in Africa; tech behemoths Meta and Microsoft have also reduced their African teams while maintaining their commitment to the continent.