LinkedIn fires over 700 employees, shuts down China-focused app
LinkedIn, which helps others find jobs, has decided to axe as many as 716 of its employees amid a weakening global economic outlook. The Microsoft subsidiary has also decided to shut down its China-focused app called InCareers. Notably, over 270,000 techies have lost their jobs worldwide over the past six months, as per Layoffs.fyi, which has been tracking tech layoffs since the COVID-19 pandemic.
LinkedIn handing out pink slips despite revenue growth
LinkedIn announced the first round of layoffs in February this year, mainly impacting the recruiting team. Now, in the second round, sales, support, and operations departments are facing the brunt, as the firm is "streamlining operations to mitigate excess costs." Surprisingly, the 20,000-employee-strong company is laying off employees despite a growth in revenue over the last two quarters.
How will impacted employees be compensated?
As per LinkedIn, laid-off workers in the United States will get benefits such as continuing health coverage, severance pay, and aid in career transition. Meanwhile, benefits for those outside the country will be subject to each nation's employment laws.
Laid-off employees can apply for upcoming job positions
LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky penned a letter to employees, highlighting that the latest job cuts were aimed at streamlining operations and removing layers to aid in making quicker decisions. In the same letter, the top boss also said that the company's overhauling would create 250 new jobs, and workers impacted by the layoffs could apply for them as well.
China-focused app to be sunset in August
LinkedIn is also shutting down its China-focused job-hunting app InCareers. It is available for free on Android and iOS and will be functional till August 9, 2023. The Microsoft-owned company has cited "fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate" as the reason behind the shutdown. However, LinkedIn will retain its presence in China to aid companies there in hiring/training workers "outside the country."
Tech industry going through challenging phase
Besides LinkedIn, Microsoft's Xbox vertical has relieved employees, while the VR/AR division HoloLens has been shut down. Over the past few months, Microsoft has laid off roughly 10,000 employees. Google's parent company, Alphabet, has axed 12,000 jobs, while Meta has fired 21,000 workers. Amazon has also conducted the largest layoff drive in its history by firing as many as 27,000 employees.
