TikTok employees strike after social media giant plans to replace them with AI

TikTok employees in Berlin went on strike to protest a 150-employee job cut after the tech giant announced plans to replace specialists from the Trust and Safety department with artificial intelligence (AI).

Employees at TikTok Germany are facing a massive issue. The social media giant plans to replace specialists from the Trust and Safety department – namely, content moderators and employees from the Live department – with AI.

Like many major companies, TikTok is looking to downsize its departments, supposedly to save money, and automate specific processes like content moderation.

Behind the scenes, content moderators filter through a large amount of content to identify distressing and disturbing posts that they later delete.

Content moderators are an integral part of companies like TikTok, as they ensure compliance with the laws and regulations that allow them to operate.

This is particularly important in areas like the European Union, which has specific mechanisms in place, such as the European Digital Services Act.

The European Digital Services Act is described as a set of EU-wide rules that aim to create a safer, more transparent online space.

However, TikTok is planning to replace content moderators and specialists with Chinese-developed AI systems, which may not be as reliable.

Ver.di, a German trade union based in Berlin, has revealed that TikTok plans to cut around 150 employees from its German branch. This move will not only put users at risk but also affect individuals' residency within the country.

“What is being sold as technological progress is a double blow for the employees: they trained the AI themselves, and now they are to be replaced,” ver.di said.

The affected employees went on strike on July 23rd, 2025, to protest the job cuts.

While ver.di has reached out to TikTok, the social media giant is apparently ignoring the union's requests.

The union is attempting to negotiate terms with TikTok. The impacted employees want three years of severance pay and an extended notice period if these plans to replace them with AI go ahead.

TikTok isn’t the only company sacrificing talent for AI

TikTok is among many companies that have adopted AI in place of human talent.

Duolingo, the world’s most popular language learning platform, came under fire after its CEO revealed its plans to become an “AI-first company.”

Alongside this announcement, Duolingo’s CEO said it would gradually phase out contractors.

By shifting its focus to AI, Duolingo plans to roll out a few “constructive constraints,” which include gradually phasing out contractors to do “work that AI can handle.”

Alongside this change, Duolingo’s internal operations, like hiring and performance reviews, will also have an AI focus.

Furthermore, companies like Klarna and Zoom trialled AI versions of their CEOs to deliver quarterly updates, making a bold statement about the future of both companies.

The fintech company Klarna was very open about being an “AI-first” company. So much so that Klarna replaced 700 of its workers with AI.

However, following this swift pivot, Klarna’s CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski revealed that replacing employees with AI has led to “lower quality” customer service, and the company has since been looking to rehire human talent, The Independent reported.