TikTok Cuts 250 Jobs, Closes Nashville Office Amid Global Restructuring

TikTok is laying off 250 employees and closing its Nashville office, which housed part of its content moderation team, according to a report by The New York Times.

The office, located in the Moore Building on Music Row, will shut down on October 5, 2026. TikTok had leased the nearly 145,000 square foot space in 2024. According to official documents, the employees affected by the layoffs are not represented by a collective bargaining agreement, as first reported by The New York Times and the Nashville Business Journal.

Zanna Crowley, a spokesperson for the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, confirmed the layoffs, saying the move was meant to "streamline our operations and better align our teams for long-term growth." She added, "We remain fully committed to providing secure, safe and positive experiences for the 200 million Americans that create, discover and connect with what they love on TikTok," as quoted by NYT.

The layoffs come as social media companies increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to monitor and remove violent or explicit content from their platforms.

Employees at the Nashville office received emails about the changes on Wednesday. Some employees reported being logged out of company-issued devices and were informed they would receive severance pay, the report added.

Following the layoff announcement, US-based class action law firm Struss Borelli PLLC said in a blog post dated August 6 that it is investigating TikTok USDS Joint Venture over the layoffs. The firm said the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires certain employers to notify employees in writing at least 60 days before a mass layoff, adding that affected TikTok employees "may be entitled to 60 days of severance pay and benefits."

TikTok's layoffs came the same week that crafting marketplace Etsy announced it was cutting about 220 jobs, or 12% of its workforce. Etsy CEO Kruti Patel Goyal said the changes were not driven by the AI boom, and were instead meant to "improve coordination and speed of decision-making," according to a Reuters report citing the company's US SEC filing.

Dublin Operations Also Affected

TikTok's job cuts extend beyond the US. The Irish Independent reported that employees at TikTok's Dublin hub are facing a "bleak" mood amid the threat of 667 role cuts, with the first wave expected to begin on August 21.

A TikTok spokesperson told the Irish publication, "We are exploring a reorganisation to strengthen our global operating model for trust and safety, including the creation of hundreds of new specialist safety roles here in Dublin, and advancing platform safety through the latest technological innovations."

Reports of potential cuts in Ireland first surfaced in July, when local outlets said TikTok could cut around 300 jobs there. TikTok currently employs more than 2,000 people in Ireland. The company has said the restructuring will also create new roles, including hundreds of specialist Trust and Safety positions in Dublin, alongside staff redeployment.