TikTok on Tuesday sought to assure U.S. employees that jobs will continue next week even if the Supreme Court upholds a law banning the video app in the United States on Sunday.
The message is a change in tone from TikTok, which has said it is confident it will prevail in its legal challenges. It also indicates that the company has no plans to exit the U.S. in the near future, even if it is banned.
TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is fighting last year's law that would ban the app unless it sells its U.S. operations to non-Chinese owners. TikTok sent a message to its employees on Tuesday, acknowledging the uncertainty surrounding its future decisions and assuring employees that their salaries will continue to be paid. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling before the law takes effect on Sunday.
“Even if this situation is not resolved by the January 19 deadline, your employment, pay, and benefits will be secure,” Nikki Raghavan, TikTok's head of global human resources, said in a message. , our office will remain open,” he wrote in a message. Obtained by The New York Times. “This bill was written to affect only the user experience in the United States, not the company where you are employed.”
The law would impose penalties on app stores and internet hosting services that distribute or update the TikTok app, effectively banning the platform. It does not force the closure of TikTok's offices in the United States.
The message also stated that “our leadership team remains focused on planning for various scenarios and continues to plan for the future.”
The memo, which praised the “resiliency and dedication” of employees, is one of the company's few internal acknowledgments of the legal battle in recent months. Former employees told the Times in November that even though TikTok was facing an existential crisis, there was little awareness within the company that TikTok might soon be banned in the United States. Executives have at times downplayed the situation, hinting in all-hands meetings that it might one day be the subject of a Hollywood movie, some executives said.
TikTok did not immediately respond to inquiries about the latest U.S. employee numbers, but the message was sent to the company's “US Team News” channel, which has more than 13,000 employees. TikTok previously announced that it has more than 7,000 employees in the United States.
“As we await the U.S. Supreme Court's decision before January 19th, we know you have many questions, and we hope to provide a clear roadmap for next steps. ” Raghavan wrote. She added: “I know it can be scary not knowing exactly what's going to happen next.”
