TikTok Plans To Add 10,000 US Jobs In The Next Three Years

While embroiled in controversy over security risks, China-based video-sharing platform TikTok announced plans Tuesday to add roughly 10,000 U.S. jobs over the next three years.

“It’s supporting the tremendous growth in the country and follows our strategy of building out teams where we have users,” TikTok spokesman Josh Gartner said.

This announcement coincides with reports that the company is looking to move its public image away from its Chinese ownership and set up a new headquarters overseas. It is said to be considering the likes of London and California for this plan, the latter of which would match with the recent hiring of former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as CEO.

Owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, TikTok currently employs around 1,400 employees in the U.S. Its three-year growth plan would represent a major acceleration of their U.S. growth, since it employed around 500 people in January.

“These are good-paying jobs that will help us continue to build a fun and safe experience and protect our community's privacy,” TikTok said in a statement to CNN.

The company said the new jobs will be based in California, Florida, New York, and Texas, and will focus primarily on engineering, sales, content moderation and customer service.

TikTok’s ambitious growth plans come at a time when the company has become the focus of intense scrutiny for its perceived security risks. Many lawmakers have expressed concerns that the company could be providing user data to the Chinese government. On Monday, the U.S. House voted to ban the app from government-issued phones for federal employees.

Amid these discussions, President Trump is also reportedly weighing a ban of TikTok in the U.S., which would undoubtedly put a freeze on the company’s plans for growth.