After India return, TikTok axes hundreds of UK moderator roles

TikTok is set to lay off hundreds of employees in its London-based content moderation and security teams, the Financial Times reported on 22 August 2025. The move forms part of a broader global restructuring that will centralise operations in regional hubs such as Dublin and Lisbon while leveraging advances in artificial intelligence, including large language models (LLMs). 

According to the Communication Workers Union (CWU), approximately 300 employees in London's trust and safety department are expected to be affected. An internal communication sent to staff stated: “we are considering that moderation and quality assurance work would no longer be carried out at our London site.” The company held a town-hall meeting on Friday to brief impacted employees. 

TikTok described the proposed changes as aligned with a consolidation strategy to “concentrate operational expertise in specific locations” and cited “technological advances, such as the enhancement of large language models” as reshaping its moderation approach, reported Financial Times. The reorganisation also extends beyond the UK, affecting teams in South and Southeast Asia. 

Critics—most notably the CWU—warn that this appears to be about offshoring roles to lower-cost jurisdictions rather than genuine technological improvement. CWU national organiser John Chadfield argued, “AI makes them sound smart and cutting-edge, but they're actually just going to offshore it.”

This restructuring comes amid the UK’s newly enforced Online Safety Act, which imposes strict obligations on platforms like TikTok to proactively remove harmful and illegal content or face steep penalties—up to £18 million or 10 per cent of global turnover. In response, TikTok recently introduced AI-powered age-assurance tools designed to infer users’ ages through behaviour and interactions—measures not yet officially endorsed by the UK regulator Ofcom.

Despite the layoffs, TikTok’s financial performance in Europe remains robust. Filings show 2024 revenues surged 38 per cent year-on-year to $6.3 billion, while pre-tax losses fell sharply from $1.4 billion in 2023 to $485 million in 2024.

The tech giant, owned by ByteDance, is simultaneously pursuing ambitious global growth. According to Bloomberg, the company is targeting roughly 20 per cent revenue growth in 2025, potentially placing it in direct competition with Meta Platforms on the world stage.

Key questions remain about the impact of heavy reliance on automated tools. Sky News reported that over 85 per cent of content removed for violations is flagged and taken down by automated systems, while 99 per cent of problematic content is removed proactively before. However, union representatives argue that replacing experienced human moderators with what they view as “immature AI alternatives” could put TikTok’s millions of British users at increased risk.

The timing of the layoffs has also fuelled criticism. The Financial Times noted that the decision was announced just one week before staff in London were due to vote on union recognition, a move that company management had resisted for some time. CWU representatives called this timing “union-busting”, arguing it revealed a prioritisation of corporate expediency over worker safety and rights.

TikTok maintains it remains “steadfastly committed to ensuring there are robust mechanisms in place to protect the privacy and safety of our users,” even as it reconfigures its global trust and safety operations.