TikTok Addresses Reports of 90% Staff Layoffs at Tokopedia

TikTok has confirmed reports of mass layoffs at Tokopedia, stating it is making adjustments to the e-commerce platform’s research and development (R&D) organisation as part of a strategy to drive long-term business growth. A TikTok spokesperson said the adjustment involves aligning R&D functions with areas deemed capable of supporting sustainable growth for the company’s business, the creator community, and sellers on its platform. “We are aligning our research and development (R&D) organisation in areas that can drive long-term, sustainable growth for our business, creator community, and sellers on our platform,” the TikTok spokesperson said in a statement received by CNBC Indonesia on Thursday (2/7/2026). TikTok acknowledged the decision was not an easy one. The company stated it is currently focused on providing support to affected employees during the transition process. “This was not an easy decision, and we are focused on providing support to our affected colleagues during this transition period,” the TikTok spokesperson said. Despite the organisational adjustment, TikTok affirmed its commitment to continue investing in Tokopedia’s development. The company said the investment is aimed at improving services for users and sellers on the platform. “We will continue to invest to make Tokopedia a better platform for our users and sellers, and continue to empower local businesses in building a sustainable e-commerce ecosystem in Indonesia,” the spokesperson added. Reports had previously circulated that ByteDance had laid off 90% of Tokopedia’s employees. The Instagram account @ecommurz reported that employees from the Technology, R&D, Trust and Safety (TnS), and finance divisions were the most affected by the wave of layoffs. ByteDance was said to be retaining only about 10% of Tokopedia’s total workforce to handle ongoing projects. The post also claimed that Tokopedia is gradually being phased out to be replaced by Tokopedia Lite, a new version that reportedly uses TikTok Shop’s internal backend system entirely, while only Tokopedia’s user interface is retained. According to a CNBC Indonesia source, TikTok Shop-Tokopedia laid off more than 450 employees in the technology unit during the latest round of layoffs. The latest wave leaves only about 10 percent of the 2,500 employees who were working at Tokopedia when the e-commerce company was acquired by TikTok from GoTo. The majority of the remaining employees work in business units, trust and safety, and technology. “Before ByteDance took over, [technology employees] numbered 1,100. In the last batch, around 500 tech [staff were laid off]. Now only 35 tech staff remain,” the source said. According to another source, all technology behind the Tokopedia and TikTok Shop platforms is now managed by ByteDance employees in China.