TikTok employees go on strike: Are there a risk of 150 layoffs in Berlin?

TikTok employees go on strike: Are there a risk of 150 layoffs in Berlin?

A four-day warning strike begins at TikTok's Berlin office on Tuesday, November 6, 2025. The background to this protest is the ongoing tensions between the Verdi union and the management of the company, which belongs to the Chinese company Bytedance. According to information from rbb24 The company management is blocking negotiations about notice periods and severance pay levels, which particularly affects the approximately 150 employees at the German headquarters in Berlin-Friedrichshain.

The focus of the planned job cuts is the “Trust and Safety Department”, which is responsible for monitoring content on the platform. TikTok plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) and external service providers to take over the tasks of this department. This raises concerns, particularly around the detection of inappropriate content.

The demands of the strikers

The protesting employees are demanding three years' salary as severance pay and an extension of the notice period by twelve months. The need for support is high because a works council has existed since 2022, in which around 70 percent of employees are unionized. Verdi sees the failed negotiations and the move to set up a conciliation body in court as an opportunity for TikTok to quickly issue terminations. How ver.di reported that both the works council and Verdi rejected the offers presented as inadequate.

A spokeswoman for TikTok said that discussions are taking place with the works council about consolidating security activities. However, these held conversations appear to show little progress, with the union expressing concern about future content moderation capacity. Recently, for example, posts with rainbow flags were incorrectly marked as “controversial” or even “hate speech” and removed.

Artificial intelligence in focus

In the context of these developments, the question arises to what extent the use of artificial intelligence to moderate content is acceptable. Experts such as Prof. Dr. Bernd Waas from the Goethe University Frankfurt warn that AI-based systems may not be able to adequately understand and take social contexts into account. These concerns are compounded by the misleading decisions already observed at TikTok. This discussion raises fundamental questions about the future of the world of work and the possible risks of new forms of discrimination associated with advancing digitalization and the influence of algorithmic decisions are becoming increasingly pressing.

TikTok does not see itself as isolated; Similar movements to improve the working conditions of content moderators are beginning to gain momentum around the world. In April, the first global union alliance of content moderators was launched in Nairobi, aiming to create international standards for the industry and hold Big Tech to account.

So far there is no indication that TikTok is willing to comply with the unions' demands. The ongoing negotiations and the upcoming strikes will have a significant impact on the development of the situation.

For further information on the challenges of digitalization and its impact on the world of work, see the article by Prof. Dr. Bernd Waas on the website Hans Böckler Foundation.