KUALA LUMPUR: ByteDance Ltd, the parent company of TikTok, has announced potential layoffs affecting several hundred employees worldwide including Malaysia.

A TikTok spokesperson revealed the company plans to invest US$2 billion globally in trust and safety initiatives throughout 2024, focusing on improving the efficiency and impact of its content moderation efforts.

"We are making these changes as part of our ongoing efforts to further strengthen our global operating model for content moderation," the spokesperson told Business Times. 

"We expect to invest US$2 billion globally in trust and safety in 2024 alone and are continuing to improve the efficacy of our efforts, with 80 per cent of violative content now removed by automated technologies," he added. 

ByteDance was responding to reports that it had laid off more than 500 staff in Malaysia.

Citing a source, Reuters reported that most of the workers were working on content moderation on the platform, which is not just limited to Southeast Asia but other regions as well.

Commenting on the matter, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the government will take proactive measures to address the impact of technological advancements on the workforce.

As machines increasingly replace human labour in various sectors, Gobind believes new opportunities requiring different skills will emerge.

"Technology will inevitably lead to machines replacing traditional manpower, but it will also create new jobs that demand new skills.  

"So in this context, it is important for us to study very carefully which sectors will be impacted most as we go along and prepare them for the changes," he said after launching Gamuda Bhd's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Academy here today.

Economists echoed the sentiment, highlighting that AI and Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies are designed to automate tasks rather than eliminate jobs entirely.

They believe that AI may automate routine and even complex tasks, but the roles of accountants, educators, and content creators will still exist - just in more efficient ways.

"It is important to remember that while AI transforms how tasks are performed, it doesn't eliminate the need for human expertise.

"We will see some jobs going, such as book-keeping or auditing but we will also see new jobs created in the same or similar industries as well as new industries," said economist Dr Geoffrey Williams.

Bank Muamalat chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said job displacement will be the key risk when the companies embrace AI in the course of doing business.

Afzanizam believes with these technologies arise, the nation will see less demand for low skilled employment.  

"Certainly it will take some time but when businesses and enterprises become more accustomed to it, we shall see the acceleration in AI utilisation," he said.

Hence, Afzanizam said education is critical for Malaysians to upgrade their knowledge.  

He said the nation also needs to develop entrepreneurship especially in the micro, small and medium enterprises space.

"On that note, we need to prepare our future generation with the right mindset. Certainly, we need our citizens to be well educated.

"But they also need to be agile in embracing the future where salaried employment may not be the norm. It's going to be based on entrepreneurship and we shall see gig employment to be more prevalent in the future," he added.

https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2024/10/1118487/bytedance-cut-hundreds-jobs