(Yicai Global) Dec. 15 -- Chinese social media giant ByteDance, which has been laying off staff in education and gaming this year, has reportedly shut its talent development center.

Team members may be transferred to other units or compensated for their potential layoffs, the Paper reported today, citing an internal email written by the Beijing-based company.

The talent development center, which used to function under the human resources department, was responsible for managing and training new employees and suppliers. The adjustment was made after ByteDance noticed that the skills and experiences of the existing team failed to meet its demand, according to the email.

The company plans to further streamline the HR department and adjust the configuration of functions and departments, according to the report. But ByteDance has not publicly talked about the matter.

This is not the first cut this year. In October, ByteDance said to the Paper that it had let go some of its employees in commercialization, gaming, and education teams.

But this time it may be different. Internal training reflects the situation of the business environment, said an industry insider. When the business performance is good, all departments require additional training, and when it's bad, the training department will be laid off, just like at ByteDance, the person added.

China's internet firms have been downsizing this year amid tightening regulation. Recently, iQiyi was reported to be letting go as much as 40 percent of its workforce, including those working with games, product, and video community.

TikTok rivals are also affected. Kuaishou has launched a new round of optimization, the Paper reported last week, citing an insider. Commercialization teams in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen will complete their transformation this month, and some business lines will be canceled, the person added.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi