ByteDance disbanded a global HR team in December.

• At a five-minute town hall meeting, ByteDance's Talent Development team was informed that their jobs were being terminated.
• According to two former employees who spoke to CNBC, between 70 and 100 people were affected by the layoffs.
• ByteDance says most of the affected staff found new roles internally.

In December, ByteDance, the Chinese internet company that owns TikTok, disbanded its global human resources team.

The Talent Development team of the company learned that their roles no longer exist during a five-minute town hall meeting that took place on Dec. 1, according to a former HR employee who received an invitation just hours before the meeting.

Three ByteDance HR staff, two former and one current, spoke to CNBC on the condition of anonymity for professional reasons.

One of the former HR staff stated that the town hall was conducted in Mandarin with live English translation, and the employees, located in various offices globally, were able to understand it.

Chinese news media reported the layoffs in December.

ByteDance HR leaders allowed employees whose positions were eliminated to apply for other jobs within the company and guaranteed fresh university graduates transfers, according to an internal memo circulated among HR leaders that was seen by CNBC.

The two former employees stated that those who did not obtain new roles within three weeks were required to leave the company on December 27. They estimated that between 70 and 100 individuals were affected by the layoffs.

An employee who was affected but successfully transferred to another internal HR role stated that the total number of people impacted by the layoffs was "nearer to 100 than to 10."

ByteDance confirmed to CNBC that layoffs have occurred, but the company did not specify the number of employees affected. The company stated that "most" employees were transferred to new teams.

ByteDance spokesperson stated that all Talent Development employees were able to apply for various opportunities within the company, and most of the affected employees have successfully transferred and integrated into new teams.

Memo explains why team was dissolved

ByteDance restructured a part of its business to improve integration with the HR organization and other high growth areas, while still prioritizing talent development for both the company and its employees, a spokesperson told CNBC.

The HR leaders received an internal memo stating that the team's work lacked practical value and was disconnected from the company's requirements.

The Talent Development Center was initially intended to be narrowed down, and then its scalable and applicable elements would be assessed and determined. However, due to the team's growth, it has been decided to no longer retain the Talent Development Center as many of its roles and functions are not aligned with our current development strategies.

A former staffer who spoke to CNBC questioned the reason behind the team's elimination without discussing the possibility of restructuring to align with the company's plans.

‘Mediocre quality’

Some company staff were unaware of the responsibilities of the Talent Development team, as per the memo from ByteDance.

The memo stated that many learning events, including online talks of average quality with large audiences or presentations by key opinion leaders that are easily accessible online, did not effectively utilize our employees' time.

While some participants mentioned that employees viewed these initiatives as "personally helpful," it was noted that they are more like "feel good" initiatives that are self-indulgent and lack actual value or purpose.

ByteDance values talent development, even if it disbanded the team by that name.

Our commitment to genuine talent development is the reason we strive to conserve our teams' time and energy, and prevent them from being deceived by a false sense of progress. This was the driving force behind our significant changes. It's easy to become complacent when employees appear to be advancing professionally, but in reality, they are not, which can be detrimental to both the employees and the company.

The ByteDance employee who transferred to a new role internally stated that talent development remains a "very active part of the organization."

Other cuts

In August 2020, ByteDance reduced its education-related jobs in China due to new Beijing regulations limiting after-school tutoring.

ByteDance dissolved its investment arm this month, CNBC reported on Jan. 19.

In 2022, the company decided to intensify its business focus, cut low-connected investments, and redistribute employees from the strategic investment department to different business lines, as stated by a spokesperson in a Chinese-language statement translated by CNBC.