LinkedIn Layoffs: Why 700 Employees Were Fired Worldwide

LinkedIn, the widely preferred professional networking platform owned by Microsoft, announced recently that it would be laying off over 700 employees across the globe. The layoffs account for 3.5% of LinkedIn's global workforce. The announcement was made public through a memo to employees by Ryan Roslansky, CEO, LinkedIn, He said that the layoffs were necessary to "ensure that we are best positioned for long-term growth and success." He also stated that the company had "made the difficult decision” to reduce the workforce in some areas where they had witnessed slower growth or where they had overlapping functions.

“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,” said Roslanky. The layoffs come amid a broader slowdown in the tech industry wherein in recent months, several other tech companies have announced layoffs, including Meta, Salesforce, Amazon, Twitter, and Netflix.

LinkedIn has been growing rapidly in recent years. The company's revenue grew from $2.6 billion in 2016 to $10.7 billion in 2021. However, growth has slowed in recent quarters. In the first quarter of 2023, LinkedIn's revenue grew just 10% year-over-year. Roslansky said that the layoffs would allow LinkedIn to "invest in the areas where we see the most opportunity for growth." He said that the company would be focusing on areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and security.

What is LinkedIn’s China Strategy?

LinkedIn CEO adde in the memo that the company would be shifting its China strategy and phasing out its local jobs app, InCareer. Roslansky said that the company would be focusing its China strategy on assisting companies operating in China to hire, market, and train abroad. This will involve maintaining LinkedIn's Talent, Marketing, and Learning businesses in China, while phasing out InCareer by 9 August 2023.

Roslansky said that InCareer had experienced some success in the past year, but that it had also encountered fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate. He said that the decision to phase out InCareer was "not an easy one," but that it was necessary to "ensure that we are best positioned for long-term growth and success in China."

As part of the shift in China strategy, LinkedIn will be discontinuing its product and engineering teams in China and downsizing its corporate, sales, and marketing functions. The company said that these changes would affect a "small number" of employees in China.

Roslansky said that LinkedIn was committed to its long-term investment in China and that the company would continue to "serve the needs of the Chinese professional community." He said that LinkedIn would be working with its China-based employees to help them transition to new roles within the company or to new jobs outside of LinkedIn.

The changes to LinkedIn's China strategy come amid a broader slowdown in the Chinese economy. In recent months, several other foreign companies have announced plans to scale back their operations in China, including Starbucks, Nike, and Adidas.

Additional details about LinkedIn Layoffs

Some of the additional details of the LinkedIn layoffs are ash follows:

• The layoffs affected employees across all levels and functions.
• The company offered severance packages to affected employees.
• LinkedIn said that it would help employees find new jobs through its internal career resources.