Layoffs have hit the tech industry hard in 2023, and now another round is hitting even more employees. The latest company to lay off employees is ByteDance, owner of TikTok. The layoffs, which are expected to officially be announced today, will hit employees working for its Nuverse gaming division, Reuters first reported.
According to the report, ByteDance will wind down its Nuverse gaming division after the fledgling unit has failed to compete with other mobile gaming giants like NetEase and Tencent. ByteDance is expected to tell employees to stop working on unreleased games by next month and is also seeking ways to offload games it has already launched.
The layoffs will reportedly affect “hundreds” of employees, but just how many is unknown. A 2021 report from TechCrunch said ByteDance then had around 3,000 employees working in its gaming division. The cessation of its gaming ambitions hits especially hard considering the company bought a mobile gaming studio called Moonton Technology just two years ago for a staggering $4 billion. According to CNBC, ByteDance is now looking to sell Moonton.
Addressing the layoffs, a ByteDance spokesperson said, “We regularly review our businesses and make adjustments to center on long-term strategic growth areas. Following a recent review, we’ve made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business.”
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