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TikTok had been in talks to rent additional office space in the capital, which would give it capacity for another 2,500 workers.
TikTok has reportedly pulled out of talks to rent a major office space in Dublin’s docklands, according to the The Irish Times.
In January, it was reported that the social media platform was in talks to secure office space that would give it capacity for another 2,500 workers. This 257,000 sq ft of space would be across two sites under development in the docklands area.
But now, industry sources told The Irish Times that TikTok does not intend to move ahead with plans to rent a 177,000 sq ft space and the property is back on the market.
The company is expected to proceed with a deal for a 80,000 sq ft property. It also signed a long-term lease for the Sorting Office in the area last year.
It is unclear why this move has been made. Last month, Wired reported that the video-sharing platform began a global restructuring of its business that includes layoffs in the US, with European jobs at risk.
TikTok has not commented on the Dublin decision, but a spokesperson said it still plans to hire an additional 1,000 workers to bolster its Irish operations.
The plan to grow its Irish workforce was revealed at a meeting in June between TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, IDA Ireland representatives and Taoiseach Michéal Martin.
Following the meeting, Martin said: “TikTok’s latest expansion further embeds Ireland as an important hub for its European and global operations, and is clear evidence of its commitment to this country.”
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, set up a Dublin base in 2018. Since then, the company has been on an expansion drive as the short-form video app has soared in popularity, reaching an estimated 1bn monthly active users last year.
In 2020, the Irish team was given responsibility for privacy oversight of European users and the company later announced that it would establish a European Transparency and Accountability Centre in Dublin.
The company’s Dublin headcount rapidly rose in 2020 and it planned to start 2021 with more than 1,100 employees. Last summer, it said it would further grow its headcount with a new cybersecurity centre in Dublin.
Ireland was also selected as the location for TikTok’s first data centre in Europe, which was announced in 2020 with an expected cost of €420m and a due date of early 2022. However, the project was pushed back to early 2023, with reports of a higher cost due to increased capacity and pandemic-related delays.
TikTok is still growing its Irish workforce as there are currently more than 300 jobs being advertised in Dublin, with various roles such as security specialists, ad quality specialists and software engineers.
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