Dasco and Tokopedia Deny Mass Layoff Rumours

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, led a meeting with management from TikTok, Tokopedia, and Manpower Minister Yassierli to address rumours of employee terminations circulating on social media. Dasco stated the tripartite meeting was convened to respond to the layoff issue that had surfaced online. “We invited representatives from TikTok, both in China and TikTok Indonesia which acquired Tokopedia. And earlier, together with the Manpower Minister, we held a dialogue,” Dasco said at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Monday, 6 July 2026.

During the session, President Director of PT Tokopedia, Stephanie Susilo, denied the reports of mass layoffs. However, she noted that the company was undertaking a workforce realignment impacting the employee structure. “There are no terminations of employment at TikTok or Tokopedia Group. What is happening is a workforce realignment that we are conducting and internal mobility within the TikTok or Tokopedia Group,” she stated. Stephanie did not detail the number of workers who had resigned or been let go but mentioned that some employees had opted for compensation packages, moved to other workplaces, or been reassigned within the TikTok-Tokopedia business group. She also claimed the company is currently hiring, saying, “We are currently recruiting for more than 100 positions in Indonesia.”

Echoing this sentiment, Dasco also dismissed the layoff rumours. “There are no layoffs,” said the Gerindra Party daily chairman. He reiterated the company’s statement that the workforce restructuring was carried out through three methods, noting that the number of employees who took compensation was estimated to be more than 200. However, he could not recall the exact number of workers who chose to work elsewhere or were reassigned to subsidiaries.

Manpower Minister Yassierli expressed appreciation for Dasco’s responsiveness in addressing public concerns. He also commended the TikTok Group for providing employment opportunities to Indonesians despite the restructuring. “Because we know the TikTok Group has various business lines, and this also provides opportunities for workers to then work in other lines of business,” Yassierli said. The meeting followed viral social media reports alleging that TikTok, through its Indonesian entity PT Tokopedia, had laid off 90 percent of its workforce, equivalent to 1,250 employees. The allegation was also raised by Labour Party President Said Iqbal, who planned to visit TikTok’s office in South Jakarta on Tuesday. Iqbal also suspected that TikTok conducted the layoffs after acquiring Tokopedia and managing it from its office in China, threatening to file a lawsuit under the International Labour Organization Convention No. 193 concerning decent work in the platform economy if the allegations proved true.