Here's the severance package TikTok offered to laid-off workers in its Nashville office, which is shutting down

TikTok is shuttering its Nashville agency successful early October and laying disconnected 250 staffers.

Last week, the institution told impacted workers they'd stay connected payroll for the adjacent mates of months earlier the agency officially closed. After that, labor are being offered 1 period of severance salary positive an further period of salary for each twelvemonth they've worked astatine the company, 3 impacted staffers said.

TikTok's severance package falls wrong the scope of what different media and tech firms person offered successful caller layoff rounds:

• In February, The Washington Post offered laid-off workers a period of guidelines pay, positive 2 weeks of salary for each twelvemonth they'd worked astatine the institution if they'd been location for much than 3 years.
• In April, Disney offered non-manager unit one period of severance if they'd been location less than 5 years. Non-managers who had been location complete 5 years were offered a week of salary for each year, up to 52 weeks.
• In May, Meta offered 4 months of guidelines severance pay, positive 2 further weeks of salary for each twelvemonth of employment.

TikTok emailed Nashville workers to show them they were being laid disconnected connected the greeting of August 5. It past shared much specifications during an office-wide video call, successful which the chat was disabled, and labor couldn't inquire questions. The institution directed unit to nonstop individual questions straight to HR, a spokesperson said.

Some Nashville labor pinch early shifts were already astatine the agency earlier the layoff was announced, and were escorted retired of the building.

TikTok's determination to unopen down its Nashville agency caught immoderate labor disconnected guard, while others told Business Insider they weren't excessively amazed aft noticing a slowdown successful caller hiring aliases backfilling of agency roles complete the past year.

"Even without anyone explicitly telling america Nashville was astatine risk, group people started wondering whether definite teams aliases locations mightiness yet beryllium consolidated," 1 impacted staffer said.

A TikTok spokesperson said the agency is being closed "to streamline our operations and amended align our teams for semipermanent growth."

"We stay afloat committed to providing secure, safe and affirmative experiences for the 200 cardinal Americans that create, observe and link pinch what they emotion connected TikTok," they said.

Many of TikTok's Nashville labor worked connected its spot and information team, which handles tasks for illustration enforcing organization and information guidelines and contented moderation. These staffers activity separately from ByteDance via a associated task the institution group up pinch a operation of investors, including Oracle, called TikTok USDS JV.

TikTok has spot and information workers successful different US offices, including Seattle, California, and New York, arsenic good arsenic a ample cohort based successful Scottsdale. It besides useful pinch third-party contractors for tasks for illustration contented moderation.

Ahead of the Nashville layoffs, TikTok was shifting much of its contented moderation activity to third-party contractors, 1 impacted staffer said. It was besides encouraging its spot and information workers to usage AI to streamline their work, utilizing soul AI devices specified arsenic the AIME chat interface and the coding merchandise TRAE, which are disposable to astir institution employees, 2 laid-off workers said.

TikTok's world squad antecedently made cuts to its contented moderation operations, including laying disconnected hundreds of UK workers astir a twelvemonth agone arsenic portion of a reorganization and push for automation, The Wall Street Journal reported. The institution has besides trimmed different divisions successful caller years, specified arsenic e-commerce and marketing, to meet shifting business needs.

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