LinkedIn lays off over 600 employees amid AI push
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — Professional networking platform LinkedIn announced that it will lay off 668 employees, representing over 3% of its global workforce, marking the second round of job cuts for the company this year.
The layoffs, impacting roles in engineering, product, talent acquisition, and finance, come as LinkedIn looks to restructure and optimize its operations around artificial intelligence. The company has recently introduced several new AI-powered features, like AI-assisted recruiting tools and AI coaching for premium users.
“Talent changes are a difficult, but necessary and regular part of managing our business,” LinkedIn said in a statement.
Earlier this year, LinkedIn laid off over 700 employees and shut down its China-focused app as part of a shift in its China strategy. This brings the company’s total layoffs to nearly 1,400 this year, joining the move from other tech firms.
LinkedIn says it remains committed to supporting those affected through the transition and treating them respectfully.
A professional networking site owned by Microsoft, LinkedIn has over 950 million users worldwide and exceeded $15 billion in annual revenue for the first time in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, according to Microsoft’s latest earnings report.
While LinkedIn’s user growth has accelerated over the past two years, its revenue growth has started to slow amidst a decline in hiring activity and advertising spend.
As the company evolves to become more AI-driven, the layoffs raise questions around which roles will remain indispensable.
“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,” LinkedIn said.
In its insights about evolving workplace trends, LinkedIn noted that more employers may hire contract workers and that the future of work will adapt to “new ways of working.”
