The Trump administration is moving swiftly to sever TikTok’s connections to China, but internally, recent leadership changes have increased Beijing’s influence over the company’s U.S. operations, according to employees.
Multiple U.S. executives have departed in the past year, with several being replaced by Chinese leaders reporting directly to ByteDance’s China-based senior staff.
A notable shift came with the exit of U.S. sales leader Blake Chandlee, whose role is now overseen by Will Liu, a Singapore-based executive tied to ByteDance China.
Sources told Business Insider that the U.S. e-commerce, advertising, and recruiting teams have increasingly been restructured under Chinese oversight.
This growing influence has created concerns among TikTok’s roughly 7,000 U.S. employees, some of whom feel excluded due to language barriers and time zone challenges. Meetings and communications are often conducted in Mandarin, and decisions are perceived to favor input from China-based managers.
As the U.S. government pushes ByteDance to divest TikTok, a potential sale could shift control back to American leadership. Many staffers hope for a change, citing low morale and growing pressure to mirror the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin.
Until a deal is finalized, however, Chinese leadership continues to shape the direction of TikTok’s U.S. business.
