LinkedIn that helps people find jobs is now laying off 700 employees

According to reports, LinkedIn, the job-focused platform owned by Microsoft, will be cutting 716 jobs as the demand for its services decreases. This latest round of layoffs will primarily affect the sales, operations, and support teams as the company aims to streamline operations to reduce costs. Back in February, LinkedIn announced the first round of layoffs, which mostly impacted the recruiting team. Despite increasing revenue for the last two quarters, the company decided to lay off workers. LinkedIn currently employs around 20,000 people.

According to a letter obtained by Reuters, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky explained that the decision to cut jobs was made to simplify the company’s operations and reduce bureaucracy. The move is intended to make faster decisions and create new opportunities within the company. Roslansky also emphasised that affected employees will be able to apply for new roles within LinkedIn.

According to Roslansky’s letter to employees, “To better serve emerging and growth markets and to adapt to changing market and customer demands, we are increasing our use of vendors.”

Although affected workers can apply for new roles, the layoffs could still create backlash for LinkedIn. The company was criticised by some employees for the sudden layoffs in February. Melanie Quandt, a laid-off employee, expressed disappointment in the company’s severance package, which she described as “small benefits.” In a LinkedIn post, she mentioned that the experience had damaged her trust in employers and that it would take a significant amount of effort to regain it.

According to a report by Reuters, LinkedIn is set to shut down its China-focused app InCareers. The company has updated its webpage to confirm that the app will function until August 9, 2023. The webpage stated that despite initial progress, the app faced tough competition and a challenging economic climate, leading to the decision to discontinue the service.

According to the announcement made by LinkedIn, the company would still maintain a presence in China to assist companies, despite discontinuing its China-focused app called InCareers. LinkedIn advises its users to download their account data before the app shuts down on August 9, 2023. InCareer was launched in December 2021 as a free iOS and Android app designed to connect Chinese professionals with job opportunities and help businesses find talent in China. However, fierce competition and unfavourable economic conditions have led to the app’s discontinuation.

The restructuring plans not only impact LinkedIn but also other verticals and businesses under Microsoft. The tech giant has closed down certain divisions such as the HoloLens virtual and augmented reality division, while other well-known verticals like Xbox have also had to let go of employees.