LinkedIn fires nearly 700 employees in second round of layoffs
Nickie Louise
Posted On October 17, 2023
LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned professional networking and hiring platform, has laid off 668 employees mostly in its finance, engineering, and talent departments. This reduction accounts for approximately 3% of the company’s workforce, which surpasses 20,000 employees. . The layoff announcement marks the second round of job cuts for the professional networking platform this year.
Earlier in May 2023, the company had already let go of 716 employees. These layoffs come amidst a challenging landscape in the tech sector, characterized by stagnant or dwindling revenues and an unsettling future marked by tens of thousands of job losses.
These job cuts coincide with a notable trend of slowing year-over-year revenue growth for the business-oriented social network, which has persisted for eight consecutive quarters. In the second quarter, revenue only experienced a 5% increase, despite consistent growth in membership over the past two years, as per Microsoft’s July report.
LinkedIn executives Mohak Shroff and Tomer Cohen conveyed in a memo that the company is adapting its organizational structures to enhance agility, accountability, and efficiency. This transformation aims to streamline operations, reduce layering, and ensure clearer ownership of initiatives as part of their FY24 plan.
“As we continue to execute on our FY24 plan, we need to also evolve how we work and what we prioritize so we can deliver on the key initiatives we’ve identified that will have an outsized impact in achieving our business goals,” LinkedIn executives Mohak Shroff and Tomer Cohen wrote in the memo. “This means adapting our organizational structures to improve agility and accountability, establishing unambiguous ownership and driving improved efficiency and transparency through reduced layering.”
Microsoft had previously disclosed plans for workforce reductions, with 10,000 employees being cut in January, followed by additional layoffs in July. These new job cuts are in addition to the earlier 10,000, as confirmed by a company spokesperson. Interestingly, LinkedIn is increasing its hiring efforts in India, as reported by a source familiar with the situation. In a blog post, LinkedIn said:
“While we are adapting our organizational structures and streamlining our decision-making, we are continuing to invest in strategic priorities for our future and to ensure we continue to deliver value for our members and customers. We are committed to providing our full support to all impacted employees during this transition and ensuring that they are treated with care and respect.”
Below is the full memo below:
Team,
We did not expect to share this important update with you all in the midst of such challenging times, but in the spirit of creating clarity, Tomer and I wanted to share some news regarding changes we are making to our orgs.
As we continue to execute on our FY24 plan, we need to also evolve how we work and what we prioritize so we can deliver on the key initiatives we’ve identified that will have an outsized impact in achieving our business goals. This means adapting our organizational structures to improve agility and accountability, establishing unambiguous ownership, and driving improved efficiency & transparency through reduced layering.
These decisions result in the reduction of 563 roles across R&D. Broken down there are 137 Engineering management roles and 38 Product roles being reduced. Additionally, there will be 388 role reductions across our Engineering team in an effort to better align resources to our FY24 plan, and we will open a small number of new roles to fill critical gaps in our ambitious roadmap.
For those who are directly affected by these changes, you will receive a calendar invitation within the next hour, titled “Required Attendance: R&D Role Reductions”. This meeting will provide you with detailed information on how we will support you through this transition.
If you do not receive this invitation, expect communication from your Product or Engineering Executive leader soon with specifics pertaining to your organization and how we will collectively navigate through these changes.
Tomer and I made these decisions with deep consideration towards the long-term needs of our business and with the acknowledgement that every affected individual has played a valuable role in the growth and success of Linkedin.
In the coming days, our focus will be on supporting each other and discussing the ways we will move forward, with our vision, mission, and values as our guides. Today, it is imperative that we support our colleagues navigating this transition. Let’s continue to embrace empathy and understanding through these difficult times and use these as a cornerstone for the support we provide each other.
Mohak & Tomer
