TikTok has told some of its US employees that they will not be moving into the new joint venture being formed with Oracle and other investors. Instead, those workers will shift to a separate global unit focused on areas like e-commerce, which will remain under ByteDance’s control even after the sale of TikTok’s US operations.
The employees affected will join a new entity called TT Commerce & Global Services LLC, while others — particularly those working on data protection and algorithm security — will move to the new US-based company, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX. The changes were outlined in an internal memo reviewed by Business Insider.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew previously told staff that business lines such as advertising, marketing, and e-commerce would stay tied to TikTok’s global operations after the deal closes, which is expected on January 22.
Under the proposed agreement, Oracle, MGX, and Silver Lake would each take a 15% stake in the US joint venture. Existing ByteDance investors would hold about 30%, new investors around 5%, and ByteDance would retain just under 20% to meet US legal requirements.
The restructuring follows US legislation that forces companies linked to foreign adversaries to divest their American assets. TikTok challenged the law but lost in the Supreme Court, prompting negotiations that led to the current sale plan — a deal the White House says could value TikTok’s US business at roughly $14 billion.