TikTok is implementing another round of changes within its global e-commerce unit, TikTok Shop. The move is affecting employees across regions as the company adjusts to performance challenges and shifting global dynamics. The restructuring effort follows several earlier layoffs this year and is aimed at building a leaner, more efficient operational model to support long-term growth.
TikTok has been facing ongoing headwinds in the US market. The company’s e-commerce business in the country reportedly failed to meet performance targets in 2024. Complications increased this year, after new US tariffs on Chinese imports, announced by President Donald Trump, disrupted supply chains.
Many sellers on TikTok Shop are based in China, and the increased tariffs have caused a significant fall in weekly orders from the US.
To manage the challenges, TikTok has been streamlining teams through layoffs, performance evaluations, and voluntary exits with severance packages. Employees in the US e-commerce division have reportedly been offered a choice between performance-improvement plans or separation packages. As more US-based staff exit, leadership roles are increasingly being filled by Chinese and Singaporean executives, especially those with experience working on Douyin, TikTok’s counterpart in China.
The reshuffle within will only add to the growing uncertainty around TikTok’s future in the US.
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is currently negotiating with the US government over a law passed last year (2024) requiring divestment from TikTok’s US assets or facing a ban.
Although enforcement has been delayed time and again, through executive orders, the threat continues to loom making employees nervous. For many affected staff members, the uncertainty has rendered them incapable of planning their career and future.
The possibility of a ban or forced sale of the company is bound to make employees really anxious.
