LinkedIn, a social media network owned by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) that focuses on business professionals, announced on Monday that it would lay off 716 employees as demand declines, as well as shut down its China-focused job application.
LinkedIn, which has 20,000 employees, has grown revenue in each quarter over the last year, but it is joining other major technology companies, including its parent, in laying off workers as the global economy slows.
According to Layoffs. fyi, which has been tracking the fallout, over 270,000 tech jobs have been cut globally in the last six months.
LinkedIn generates revenue through ad sales as well as subscription fees charged to recruiting and sales professionals who use the network to find prospects.
LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky stated in a letter to employees that the move to reduce roles in its sales, operations, and support teams was aimed at streamlining the company’s operations and removing layers to help make faster decisions.
“With the market and customer demand fluctuating more, and in order to serve emerging and growth markets more effectively, we are expanding our use of vendors,” Roslansky wrote.
According to a LinkedIn spokesperson, the vendors are “external partners” who will take on new and existing work.
In the letter, Roslansky also stated that the changes would result in the creation of 250 new jobs. Employees affected by the layoffs, according to the spokesperson, will be able to apply for those positions.
LinkedIn also announced the discontinuation of its simplified jobs app in China after deciding in 2021 to withdraw from the country entirely, citing a “challenging” environment. LinkedIn said the remaining China app, InCareers, will be phased out by August 9.
“Despite our initial progress, InCareer faced fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate, which ultimately led us to the decision of discontinuing the service,” the company informed website visitors.
According to a company spokesperson, LinkedIn will maintain a presence in China to assist companies operating there in hiring and training employees from outside the country.
Large companies have accounted for the majority of recent layoffs in the technology sector, including 27,000 at Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), the most in the company’s history.
Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), Facebook’s parent company, laid off 21,000 employees, and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Google’s parent company, laid off 12,000.
According to Layoffs, 5,000 technology jobs had been eliminated in May alone prior to LinkedIn’s announcement.fyi.
Microsoft, which paid around $26 billion for LinkedIn in 2016, announced 10,000 job cuts in recent months and took a $1.2 billion charge as a result of the layoffs.
