LinkedIn, the social media network owned by Microsoft Corp that focuses on business professionals, said on Monday it would cut 717 jobs as demand wavers, while also shutting down its China-focused job application, Reuters reported.
LinkedIn, which has 20,000 employees, has grown revenue each quarter during the last year, but it joins other major technology companies including its parent in laying off workers amid a weakening global economic outlook.
According to Reuters, LinkedIn makes money through ad sales and also by charging for subscriptions to recruiting and sales professionals who use the network to find prospects.
In a letter to employees, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said the move to cut roles in its sales, operations and support teams was aimed at streamlining the company’s operations and would remove layers to help make quicker decisions.
Roslansky also said n the letter the that the changes would result in creating 250 new jobs. The spokesperson said that employees affected by the cuts would be eligible to apply for those roles.
LinkedIn posted “A message from LinkedIn’s CEO” on its LinkedIn Pressroom. Here are some key parts:
- As we guide LinkedIn through this rapidly changing landscape, we are making changes to our Global Business Organization (GBO) and our China strategy that will result in a reduction of roles for 716 employees.
- If your role is directly impacted by this decision, you will receive a calendar invitation within the next hour for a meeting with a leader from your team and a representative from our Global Talent Organization (GTO).
- First, we’ll be refocusing our Global Business Organization for the next phase of growth. Based on the cycle noted above, we’ve learned we need to re-organize for greater agility and growth in FY24 and beyond and are focused on three themes, reorganizing how work gets done, becoming more agile, and aligning our teams for growth.
- Second, we’ll focus our China Business on our Go Global strategy. We’ll focus our China strategy on assisting companies operating in China to hire, market, and train abroad. This will involve maintaining our Talent, Marketing, and Learning businesses, while phasing out InCareer, our local jobs app in China, by August 9, 2023.
TechCrunch reported that LinkedIn Ryan Roslanky said the decision to shutter the standalone China app, called InCareer, was because of “fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate.”
According to TechCrunch, LinkedIn is the latest tech company, ranging in size from Google and Amazon to startups, to announce layoffs. Its parent company, Microsoft, said it was cutting 10,000 jobs, or nearly 5% of its global workforce, in January.
Laid off employees who are covered by U.S. benefits will get severance pay, continuing health coverage and career transition services, while employees outside the U.S. will get benefits that align with local labor laws and practices.
In my opinion, I think it is unethical to suddenly fire over 700 employees, all at once. It is good that they are getting severance pay, health care, and transition services to potentially help them find another job. It is terrible that so many people are going to have to struggle once those benefits disappear.