LinkedIn Said to Cut Over 700 Jobs, Shut Down China Focussed InCareers App

The remaining China app, called InCareers, is said to be phased out by August 9.

By Reuters | Updated: 9 May 2023 10:39 IST

Photo Credit: Reuters

LinkedIn is a social media network owned by Microsoft

Highlights

In the past six months, there have been more than 270,000 tech job cuts
LinkedIn makes money through ad sales and by charging for subscriptions
LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky announced this in a letter to employees

LinkedIn, the social media network owned by Microsoft that focuses on business professionals, said on Monday it would cut 716 jobs as demand wavers, while also shutting down its China-focused job application.

LinkedIn, which has 20,000 employees, has grown revenue each quarter during the last year, but it joins other major technology companies including its parent in laying off workers amid a weakening global economic outlook.

In the past six months, more than 270,000 tech jobs globally have been cut, according to Layoffs.fyi, which has been tracking the fallout.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

LinkedIn makes money through ad sales and also by charging for subscriptions to recruiting and sales professionals who use the network to find prospects.

In a letter to employees, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said the move to cut roles in its sales, operations and support teams was aimed at streamlining the company's operations and would remove layers to help make quicker decisions.

"With the market and customer demand fluctuating more, and to serve emerging and growth markets more effectively, we are expanding the use of vendors," Roslansky wrote.

AI Pioneer Has This to Say About Use of Artificial Intelligence

A LinkedIn spokesperson said the vendors were "external partners" who would take on new and existing work.

Roslansky also said in the letter that the changes would result in creating 250 new jobs. The spokesperson said that employees affected by the cuts would be eligible to apply for those roles.

LinkedIn also said it was eliminating the slimmed down jobs app that it offers in China after it decided in 2021 to mostly withdraw from the country, citing a "challenging" environment. The remaining China app, called InCareers, will be phased out by August 9, LinkedIn said.

Xbox Chief Phil Spencer Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ for Redfall Debacle

"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 told users of the website.

LinkedIn will retain a presence in China to help companies operating there to hire and train employees outside the country, the company spokesperson said.

In the tech sector, large companies have accounted for the bulk of recent layoffs, including 27,000 at Amazon, the most in its history.

Facebook owner Meta Platforms shed 21,000, and Google parent Alphabet has laid off 12,000. Before LinkedIn's announcement, 5,000 technology jobs had been in eliminated in May alone, according to Layoffs.fyi. Microsoft, which bought LinkedIn for around $26 billion (roughly Rs. 2,13,100 crore) in 2016, has announced some 10,000 job cuts in recent months and took a $1.2 billion (roughly Rs. 9800 crore) charge related to the layoffs.

OnePlus recently launched its first tablet in India, the OnePlus Pad, which is only sold in a Halo Green colour option. With this tablet, OnePlus has stepped into a new territory that's dominated by Apple's iPad. We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.