LinkedIn to Eliminate 716 Jobs to Streamline Operations, Exits Chinese Market

Microsoft-owned social network platform for job seekers, professionals, and businesses, LinkedIn will eliminate 716 jobs to streamline operations, as it also exits the Chinese market shutting down the InCareer app.

LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky via a letter to employees disclosed that the move was necessitated as the company streamlines its operations to save unnecessary expenditures as it navigates the recent economic downturn. He also noted that there are seeing shifts in customer behavior and slower revenue growth, hence the need to adopt a new strategy.

The letter reads in part,

“Over the years we’ve had to make hard decisions to ensure we were setting the company up to deliver on our vision, and I’m sharing one of those decisions today. 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. 

“Our colleagues who are impacted by this announcement have all made invaluable contributions to our company. I want to recognize the impact this decision has on the lives of those individuals. And I want all of you to know that the entire leadership team and I are dedicated to helping our colleagues during this transition and ensuring that they are treated with the care and respect they deserve.”

The company is however committed to providing full support to those impacted. In the U.S., benefit-eligible employees will receive a variety of benefits including severance pay, continuing health coverage, and career transition services. Benefits for employees outside the U.S. will align with the employment laws and local practices in each country.

In a bid to keep the business afloat and increase revenue, Roslansky disclosed that LinkedIn will re-organize for greater agility and growth in FY24 and beyond and is focused on three themes which are reorganizing how work gets done, becoming more agile, and aligning our teams for growth. 

Also, the company’s China-based jobs app, InCareer, would shut down operations on August 9, to focus on helping companies in China to hire and train abroad. Though InCareer experienced some success in the past year thanks to its strong China-based team, it also encountered fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate.

As AI is just beginning to accelerate changes in the global economy and labor market, LinkedIn is more essential than ever to help its members and customers navigate the changes to access economic opportunity, Investors King understands. The company joins the likes of other tech companies that have laid off a part of its workforce to navigate the current economic downturn.