TikTok has been growing its presence in Downtown Bellevue in recent years, becoming one of the city’s biggest employers and opening a new office to encourage more employees to work in person. At the same time, the company is also cutting jobs in its e-commerce division, TikTok Shop.
According to a filing with the Washington State Employment Security Department, TikTok is laying off 65 employees in Bellevue. All of the affected roles are part of TikTok Shop, which focuses on online shopping and sales.
TikTok Shop launched in the U.S. as part of the company’s push into livestream shopping and social commerce. Many of the employees working in that division were based in Bellevue, where TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has built a large local team.
TikTok was the seventh-largest employer in Bellevue last year, according to a recent city financial report. Among tech companies, only Meta, Amazon, and T-Mobile—whose headquarters is in Bellevue—ranked higher.
Since 2021, TikTok and ByteDance have leased about 450,000 square feet of office space in the city, mainly in Key Center (601 108th Ave NE) and Lincoln Square North (10401 NE 8th St).
In late 2023, ByteDance expanded its lease at Key Center to a total of about 155,000 square feet, according to Savills’ Q1 2024 office market report. Permit filings also showed TikTok leasing floors 23 to 28 at Lincoln Square North—about 155,000 square feet of former Microsoft space.
By mid-2024, TikTok had roughly 150,000 square feet of office space at both Key Center and Lincoln Square North.
Earlier this year, TikTok’s U.S. Data Security (USDS) division opened a 40,000-square-foot office in Bellevue. The space was designed by architecture firm Gensler and features natural materials and soft lighting. It was created to be an inviting space to help bring employees back into the office.
Gensler said the design reflects findings from its Global Workplace Survey, which shows that employees are more likely to be productive and stay with their employer when they feel supported by their work environment.
