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The redundancies are expected to take place in April, said Minister Peter Burke.
Up to 300 jobs at TikTok’s Irish base in Dublin could be slashed, a move that could affect around 10pc of the company’s workforce in the country, reports suggest.
In a statement to news outlets yesterday (5 March), the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment said that it received “a collective redundancy notification” from TikTok on 4 March. SiliconRepublic.com has reached out to TikTok for comment.
While today (6 March), the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke, TD said the redundancies are expected to take place in April, although, the exact numbers remain unconfirmed.
“My department, along with our agencies, will work to support workers affected in the period ahead as they pursue alternative employment.
“This includes sharing the skills profiles of impacted employees to companies who may be hiring, be that with multinationals in IDA’s client base or indigenous companies through Enterprise Ireland,” he explained.
The announcement comes after reports emerged late last month that TikTok would be laying off employees from its trust and safety unit worldwide. The company’s move to fire employees from the department sparked concern as independent organisations continue to report on the increasing safety issues on the social media platform.
A recent report from Global Witness, an international NGO, showed that TikTok’s recommendation algorithms disproportionately pushed far-right political content to ideologically undecided social media users in Germany.
While an investigation conducted by the NGO in Ireland prior to last year’s general election found “significant failings” in TikTok’s ability to moderate disinformation and political content. Although its investigation into TikTok’s US platform rang a similar tune, the NGO did note that it had improved its moderation systems at the time.
Moreover, the European Commission recently opened formal proceedings against the social media platform after far-right and pro-Russian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu won the first round of the Romanian elections in November.
Georgescu’s victory raised questions about how posts on TikTok could have led to his surprising victory, especially as the social media platform’s own advertising policy prohibits political content.
Last week, Georgescu was detained by the Romanian police, and is reportedly being investigated for giving false information, as well as promoting a fascist and antisemitic organisation.
While the global layoffs would not be affecting the company’s American operations, TikTok’s future in the US hangs in the balance as the Chinese-owned company only has a few remaining weeks before its postponed ban reaches its deadline.
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Updated, 10.35am, 6 March 2025: This article was updated to include comments from Minister Peter Burke.
