TikTok hiring in the US slowed as departures increased in the second half of 2024
TikTok’s highest-ranking employees aren’t the only staff head towards the exit like the potential of the popular application US ban approaches.
During the second half of 2024, U.S. employee departures increased 38% compared to the same period in 2023, according to figures from Live Data Technologies, a provider of employment and job turnover research.
Jason Saltzman, chief growth officer at Live Data Technologies, noted that most of the TikTok employees who left in 2024 have since joined large tech companies, such as Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Snap, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Netflix and Reddit.
At the same time, hiring slowed to its lowest level since the second half of 2020.
However, the decline in new hires does not appear to be due to a lack of opportunities. A job search on TikTok’s career site turns up more than 2,000 open positions in a dozen U.S. cities. Different roles include places on teams such as product, design, operations, advertising and sales.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.
The increase in staff departures from the app, coupled with a decrease in new hires, comes after years of steady expansion. TikTok’s U.S. workforce has grown from about 6,200 employees at the start of 2019 to nearly 17,000 by the end of 2024.
“Over the 2020-2024 period, TikTok grew its U.S. workforce more than any other major social platform,” Saltzman said.
However, TikTok is now entering a less optimistic period. Earlier this month, ADWEEK reported Jack Bamberger, general manager of TikTok’s US agency business, left the company on January 3. Sameer Singh, TikTok’s head of ad sales for North America, is should leave end of February.
Unless Chinese parent company ByteDance cuts ties with the app or the US Supreme Court decides to interveneTikTok is set to shut down in the United States on January 19.
