LinkedIn plans to cut about 5% of its workforce and was preparing to inform staff on May 13 as the Microsoft-owned business reorganizes teams and redirects resources to higher-priority areas. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The layoffs affect multiple functions, including engineering, product, marketing and the Global Business Organization, according to reports and an internal memo. CEO Daniel Shapero told employees the company needs to deliver more impact and operate more profitably, saying, "We need to reinvent how we work, with agile teams focused on our highest priorities, and by shifting investments toward areas such as infrastructure to fulfill our mission and vision over the long term." [6, 7, 8, 9, 5]
LinkedIn said the cuts are part of a broader effort to reorganize teams and concentrate funding on areas where the business is growing or where the company sees the broadest impact. It also said the layoffs are not being driven by artificial intelligence replacing jobs at the company. [1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5]
The company had more than 17,500 full-time employees globally, and a 5% reduction would affect hundreds of workers. LinkedIn’s revenue rose 12% in the just-ended quarter from a year earlier, according to Microsoft securities filings. [1, 2, 3, 7, 5]
Business Insider reported that LinkedIn is also trimming spending on marketing campaigns, vendor costs, customer events and underused office space, while changing some product operations and centralizing user experience design resources. The report said the marketing team is reducing paid media spending and using AI tools and workflows, and quoted an internal memo saying the current model "is no longer the best model to keep up with what learners want or the more cost effective way to create all our content". [7, 8, 9]
The next milestone is the staff notification tied to May 13, when LinkedIn was due to announce or inform employees about the layoffs. [1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5]
