TikTok Restructures, Putting Hundreds of UK Jobs at Risk

TikTok, the wildly popular video-sharing platform, is set to undergo a significant restructure of its trust and safety operations, a move that threatens to impact several hundred jobs in the UK. The company confirmed that it is "concentrating our operations in fewer locations globally," a strategic shift driven by an increasing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) for content moderation.

This global reorganization will affect jobs not only in the UK but also across South and Southeast Asia. In the UK, where TikTok currently employs over 2,500 staff, the proposed changes are expected to put a substantial number of positions at risk within its trust and safety teams. The work performed by these employees will be reallocated to other European offices and some third-party providers, though a core team for trust and safety operations will reportedly remain in the UK.

A spokesperson for the company explained the rationale behind the changes: "We are continuing a reorganisation that we started last year to strengthen our global operating model for trust and safety, which includes concentrating our operations in fewer locations globally to ensure that we maximise effectiveness and speed as we evolve this critical function for the company with the benefit of technological advancements."

This "technological advancement" is a clear reference to the platform's growing adoption of AI. TikTok has increasingly leveraged AI to moderate content, with the company claiming that automation now identifies and removes over 85% of content that violates its community guidelines. TikTok also highlights that AI can reduce the exposure of its human moderators to distressing and graphic content.

However, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has raised serious concerns about the implications of this shift. A CWU spokesperson warned that the job cuts could put "TikTok’s millions of British users at risk." The union claims that TikTok workers have long expressed alarm over the real-world consequences of "cutting human moderation teams in favour of hastily developed, immature AI alternatives." The CWU spokesperson added that this concern has been a constant issue throughout the workers' efforts to form a union.

The restructuring comes even as TikTok plans to expand its physical footprint in London. The company, which has its UK head office in Farringdon, is set to open a new office in Barbican early next year, indicating that the job cuts are a result of a functional reorganization rather than a broader withdrawal from the UK market. The move highlights a growing trend across the tech industry where AI is being integrated into core business functions, often leading to a reduction in human-led operational roles.