SINGAPORE: A Singaporean took to social media to share how abrupt and unexpected the recent TikTok layoffs were. He recounted a firsthand account of how his sister-in-law, one of the retrenched employees, was completely blindsided by the news.
Posting on the r/askSingapore subreddit, he claimed that his sister-in-law had been working late the night before, staying up until 2 am to finish her tasks and prepare to send them out. However, before she could do so, she suddenly lost access to everything.
“Her computer [was] deactivated, [and all her] work was gone,” he wrote. “Apparently she couldn’t even tap her card to enter the office nor say goodbye to coworkers.”
The Singaporean shared that this reminded him of his first job at an SME. He recalled, “My boss told me to get out a report by 9 am the next day. I didn’t sleep. I felt terrible and took a taxi down to the office. You know what he said? ‘Client meeting has been postponed’. No ‘thank you’, no ‘sorry’, no heads up when he knew the night before. Stupid me worked there for another year.”
His experience, alongside his sister-in-law’s sudden retrenchment, led him to reflect on how easily employees can be discarded, no matter how much effort they put in.
To spark further discussion, he asked other Singaporeans in the forum: “In light of the TikTok layoffs, what’s one thing in your career that made you realize ‘a job is just a job’?”
“We are just numbers to a company.”
The post quickly drew responses from Singaporean users who looked back on all the times they bent over backwards for their companies, only to realize later that they were just another “cog in the machine.”
One user shared, “When I missed my granddad’s funeral to avoid a last-minute scramble at work, my ex-boss said, ‘Thank you for your sacrifice,’ but yet when review time came, he conveniently forgot about it. Something about ‘give and take.’”
Another wrote, “A colleague worked so hard that he got a heart attack and died at the airport, leaving behind a wife and a [three-year-old] child. The company just replaced his position in a week’s time, and life goes on. We are just numbers to the company; [there is] no need for loyalty in this era.”
A third said, “My dog passed, and I missed her last moments because I was ‘busy’ working on a report. After that, I told myself to never put work before my loved ones.”
At least 12 employees in Singapore have been laid off
On Thursday (Feb 20), The Straits Times broke the news that at least 12 TikTok employees in Singapore were abruptly let go after receiving an email informing them of their immediate termination.
The email reportedly mentioned that the decision was made to enhance ‘operational efficiency and better align with the company’s business needs.’ It also stated that the move came after ‘months of careful consideration.’
Some employees lost access just an hour after being informed that their jobs had been cut, while others got to keep their roles.
One affected employee, former Trust and Safety product manager Eric Tan, shared his experience on LinkedIn. He said, “I woke up to the sobering news that I was made redundant as part of the latest wave of layoffs at TikTok. This wave of layoffs impacted multiple departments across Trust and Safety, including some really bright and passionate individuals I have come to know.”
He added, “The news of the layoffs stung because deep down in my heart, I knew I was meant to be here. These past three years have been filled with highs and lows, and most importantly, making some genuine friends that care as deeply and passionately as I do about content safety and making our (digital) world a safer place.”
Read related: TikTok allegedly axes some jobs in Singapore as part of global layoffs
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