ByteDance chip design staff suddenly find out they report to Singapore unit

Chip design workers at Chinese tech giant ByteDance, many based in Beijing or Shanghai, unexpectedly found out last week that they are part of a Singapore unit, three people familiar with the matter said.

The employees made the discovery when they were moved into a new group on the company’s internal messaging platform, two of the people said.

Having chip design staff report into a Singapore unit may help ByteDance navigate U.S.-China tensions as it seeks to access advanced semiconductor technology.