THE GOVERNMENT HAS been informed of up to 300 layoffs at TikTok’s Irish operations.

The Journal reported last month that a number of staff at the Dublin office of TikTok were set to lose their jobs in a global raft of redundancies

It is the latest round of layoffs at the tech giant, which employs around 3,000 people at its Grand Canal offices. 

A report by Reuters last month noted that the layoffs would be in the trust and safety unit which handles harmful content. 

When contacted last month, a spokeswoman for TikTok in Ireland said she had no comment. 

However, sources confirmed that Dublin staff were informed of the layoffs and that a number of Irish-based staff were set to lose their jobs.

A large number of the Irish operations are engaged in content moderation.

In a statement to RTÉ this evening, a spokesperson for the Department of Enterprise said it had received a redundancy notification from TikTok.

“The Department received a collective redundancy notification in relation to potential redundancies at TikTok Technology Limited on 4 March,” said the spokesperson.

In July, 2024 The Journal reported that there were other layoffs at TikTok around advertising quality on the platform. 

There were also global layoffs in October last year. 

Labour’s enterprise spokesperson George Lawlor has called Minister Peter Burke to provide an update in the Dáil on Government scenario planning “with the news that TikTok is due to shed its workforce”.

Lawlor remarked that it’s a “deeply worrying time” for the staff who will be impacted and added: “Unfortunately we’ve been here before with the heavy handed approach taken by tech companies in Ireland.”

He called on Burke to “ensure that Irish labour laws are adhered to and that employees are engaged with fairly”.

“Government must hold TikTok to its legal obligations to employees,” said Lawlor.

He added: “We are in totally uncharted territory as companies and Governments scramble to keep up with the whim of US President Donald Trump.

“At this point, the Minister needs to make a statement in the Dáil on how the Irish Government is scenario planning for any potential job threats or concerns for our economy.”

Lawlor added that “thousands of jobs and billions of revenue could be at risk as companies attempt to assess the changing economic landscape under Trump”.

“Minister Burke must back these workers and send a clear message to employers and employees alike that all avenues must be explored to protect the livelihoods of working people in Ireland.”

-With additional reporting from Niall O’Connor