TikTok signals layoffs as U.S. e-commerce team told to work from home

U.S. TikTok Shop employees received a memo on Tuesday that recommended its staff to work from home Wednesday, ahead of “difficult decisions.” The memo, which was earlier reported by Bloomberg, told staff they would be updated on “organizational and personnel changes” via email, followed by HR outreach, suggesting possible layoffs. TikTok Shop, the Chinese-owned company’s marketplace feature launched in 2023 in the U.S., allows users to shop for products via the app. The marketplace—which hosts everything from popular U.S. brands like Crocs to third-party merchandise from Temu and Shein—hit $100 million in single day sales on Black Friday alone. “TikTok Shop is the fastest-growing sales channel we’ve ever had at MaryRuth’s. It took off faster than Amazon, faster than retail, faster than anything we’ve seen,” Jay Hunter, chief revenue officer of vitamin and supplement company MaryRuth’s, said via LinkedIn. “It’s messy. It’s unpredictable. But the upside is real.” The video app and its parent company ByteDance have faced several challenges this year, including a looming threat of a ban in the U.S. and a month-over-month decline in TikTok Shop sales due to Chinese-based foreign sellers affected by tariffs, Business Insider reported. While specific details regarding changes and scale are yet to be released, the memo follows a series of restructuring efforts to TikTok’s e-commerce unit. In April, TikTok let go several staff members from the U.S. e-commerce unit’s governance and experience team, due in part to failing to meet performance goals. Later that month, reorganization efforts gave more control to executives from the company’s China-based operations, including Mu Qing, who authored the Tuesday memo, per Bloomberg. Fast Company reached out to TikTok for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publishing.

May 22, 2025 - 01:00

TikTok signals layoffs as U.S. e-commerce team told to work from home

U.S. TikTok Shop employees received a memo on Tuesday that recommended its staff to work from home Wednesday, ahead of “difficult decisions.”

The memo, which was earlier reported by Bloomberg, told staff they would be updated on “organizational and personnel changes” via email, followed by HR outreach, suggesting possible layoffs.

TikTok Shop, the Chinese-owned company’s marketplace feature launched in 2023 in the U.S., allows users to shop for products via the app. The marketplace—which hosts everything from popular U.S. brands like Crocs to third-party merchandise from Temu and Shein—hit $100 million in single day sales on Black Friday alone.

“TikTok Shop is the fastest-growing sales channel we’ve ever had at MaryRuth’s. It took off faster than Amazon, faster than retail, faster than anything we’ve seen,” Jay Hunter, chief revenue officer of vitamin and supplement company MaryRuth’s, said via LinkedIn. “It’s messy. It’s unpredictable. But the upside is real.”

The video app and its parent company ByteDance have faced several challenges this year, including a looming threat of a ban in the U.S. and a month-over-month decline in TikTok Shop sales due to Chinese-based foreign sellers affected by tariffs, Business Insider reported.

While specific details regarding changes and scale are yet to be released, the memo follows a series of restructuring efforts to TikTok’s e-commerce unit.

In April, TikTok let go several staff members from the U.S. e-commerce unit’s governance and experience team, due in part to failing to meet performance goals.

Later that month, reorganization efforts gave more control to executives from the company’s China-based operations, including Mu Qing, who authored the Tuesday memo, per Bloomberg.

Fast Company reached out to TikTok for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publishing.