The “996” company culture, where staff work six days a week from 9am to 9pm, is reported to be the norm among ByteDance employees around the world (Photo: Reuters).

TikTok’s CEO has resigned after saying he didn’t think the company should offer maternity leave.

As a “capitalist,” Joshua Ma, the former head of TikTok’s European e-commerce division, told staff he didn’t think the company offered maternity leave, the Financial Times reported.

The CEO then resigned, saying the company is looking into the allegations to “determine whether he violated company policy.”

According to the report, “he will rest for a while” while the company continues to investigate his behavior.

I have been a member of ByteDance (the parent company of TikTok) since 2018, and in August last year I was transferred to the head of the European e-commerce business. Executives initially worked on TikTok’s Chinese version of ByteDance (called Douyin), with key features like short videos and live streaming.

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ByteDance reportedly paid two former TikTok employees in London for unfavorable working conditions (Photo: Shutterstock).

ByteDance has recently been accused of its toxic work culture, with workers leaving TikTok’s London office every week due to being overworked.

The company opened its London headquarters last October, but has since halved its workforce due to employee turnover.

“Work-life balance, mental health and respect for personal time are non-existent concepts. On London’s Grassdoor Job Review website, a former TikTok e-commerce team manager said after dinner, on weekends and during holidays.I hope to work for a long time.

Another former employee of the company’s community content team complained about the “unethical” human resources department.

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TikTok executives resigned after saying they didn’t think companies should offer maternity leave (Photo: Reuters)

“They didn’t investigate the harassment claim for three months, but finally when I decided to quit because I couldn’t take it, they contacted me asking for more details about my claim. Frankly, it’s a complete joke. They write in Puerta de cristal.

ByteDance reportedly paid compensation for adverse working conditions to two former London-based TikTok employees.

The company is known for its “996” culture, in which staff work six days a week from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm This is the standard for ByteDance employees around the world.

As with many service companies, employees in some jobs may need work hours that match the usage patterns of their users. Our goal is to make this an exception rather than a standard, supporting the team with flexible work hours, regular meeting times, and robust health and wellness,” a TikTok spokeswoman told.

TikTok explained that the UK has a clear maternity leave policy which includes: “30 weeks paid leave (90% of median income), 9 weeks paid leave, 13 weeks paid leave.”

Due to the company’s poor reputation, British technical workers were forced to turn down jobs at the company and refuse interviews.