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TikTok has reportedly laid off hundreds of staff members globally, including a large number from its Malaysia office.
The company confirmed reports of the layoffs, noting that less than 500 employees in Malaysia were affected, countering earlier rumors that the number had been more than 700. Those laid off were informed via email on Wednesday.
The bulk of the layoffs were in TikTok’s content moderation division, which will be relying more heavily on AI.
The company currently uses a mix of human content moderators and AI. On its website, TikTok says that “moderators work alongside our automated moderation systems and take into account additional context and nuance which may not always be picked up by technology.”
Reports indicated that about 80% of content removed from the app was flagged by its AI systems, though it’s possible TikTok is now working on improving the efficiency of that AI.