TikTok has reportedly laid off several employees in the US from its e-commerce governance and experienced team. The TikTok layoffs were implemented for the division as its employees failed to meet performance expectations last year. The ByteDance-owned short video platform is already struggling in the United States amid its potential ban and buyout decision. Recently, Donald Trump extended the TikTok deadline for the second time. Five employees revealed that TikTok's global governance and experience team for TikTok Shop may be impacted by the restructuring plan.

According to the reports, the latest round of TikTok layoffs affected the e-commerce team, which had been under pressure this year as it did not meet the company's expectations related to its performance. This year, in February, Bob Kang, a top company executive, addressed the shortcomings during the all-hands meeting of the global trust and safety team and following that they were laid off. 

The TikTok layoffs in February affected employees working in different regions including Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The reports mentioned that TikTok's employees got low scores in their annual performance review in March. Following this situation, there were plans to improve their performance; however, later, they were met with the exit with severance pay. The job cuts in this month are limited to the United States, as per reports. 

Recently, China raised its retaliatory tariffs on the US to 125% and said that it would keep the fight to the end. US-China tension escalated after US President Donald Trump raised tariffs on the imports of foreign countries. Compared to other countries, the US President imposed more tariffs on China, leading to trade wars. The White House said that the country-specific tariffs on China will jump to 145%. 

Amid this tension, the Chinese company ByteDance-owned TikTok is facing difficulty keeping its operations in the United States amid the bill forcing it to sell to non-Chinese buyers. Donald Trump has already finalised the deal with the company, but China pushed back the decision after the Liberation Day tariffs.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 11, 2025 06:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).