Wildfires are currently devastating the greater Los Angeles area, burning over 45 square miles, torching over 1,300 structures, and putting nearly 180,000 people under evacuation orders as of Thursday. And yet, TikTok’s LA-based employees are being told to either continue their work from home or use their personal/sick days if that’s not possible, while the company’s LA office remains closed due to power outages caused by high winds.
Already, the Palisades Fire is close enough to TikTok’s office that smoke can be seen out the windows. But although the Culver City-based office itself is not under mandatory evacuation orders at this time, both it and many employees’ homes are impacted by the fires, windstorms, and related problems.
TikTok’s employees in the region hail from all over the broader LA area — some even commuting hours into work — and many of their homes are currently without power, Wi-Fi, or both, we understand from employee sources at TikTok. Some could even be under evacuation orders of their own (though we have not directly confirmed this at this time).
Unfortunately for staff dealing with this large-scale natural disaster, TikTok is telling them to use their personal or sick time to account for the days they need to take off due to these conditions.
In messages from TikTok leadership to LA staff, the company informed employees that the LA office would be closed on January 8 and would remain closed through Sunday, January 12, as the fires continued to ravage the area and the office itself is without power. The days the office is closed are being made Work From Home days as opposed to days off, however — unless an individual team leader decides otherwise.
In one message, an HR representative shared links to other company resources for those impacted by the fires, including a Mental Wellbeing Portal, a way to sign up for free mental health sessions wit …