The news: US TikTok Shop employees were told Wednesday to work from home and await “difficult decisions,” signaling that the embattled social media platform will lay off staff.
Parent company ByteDance tightened oversight of TikTok Shop last month after the social commerce initiative repeatedly failed to meet ambitious internal goals.
Zooming out: TikTok Shop is the primary driver of US social commerce growth, but the double whammy of a potential US ban and the Trump administration’s “reciprocal” tariffs have put extra pressure on the business that was already operating in a tough-to-penetrate market.