‘They sent me a ChatGPT email,’ laid off ByteDance employee calls out company’s toxic culture

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is facing backlash from employees impacted by its latest round of layoffs, with one laid-off staffer exposed the toxic culture in the company. “They sent me a ChatGPT email,” the employee said, expressing shock at the impersonal nature of the layoff notification. The worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation, said they had worked grueling late hours for global meetings and were frequently assigned last-minute “critical” projects with no clear strategy or explanation.