TikTok plans to lay off hundreds of moderators in the UK, moving moderation to other European offices in favor of artificial intelligence.

TikTok plans to lay off hundreds of UK content moderation staff, moving operations to other European offices. The company is investing in artificial intelligence to improve moderation efficiency, prompting criticism from the CWU union, which says the decision prioritizes profit over worker safety. Affected employees will have priority in applying for other internal roles. The move comes amid stricter content vetting requirements in the UK, as well as employee protests in Germany. TikTok has cut staffing in moderation teams globally, often replacing human moderators with automated systems.