The world’s largest professional network is laying off workers

LinkedIn, the professional network that’s become a popular platform for workers to share news of their layoffs, recently announced some layoff news of its own.

In a May 8 message, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said the company would lay off 716 workers in response to shifting customer behavior and slower revenue growth. The layoffs will affect about 3.5% of LinkedIn’s 20,000-person workforce. The company also announced it will phase out InCareer, its local jobs app in China.

LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft and counts 930 million members, has become a go-to resource for both job-seekers and recruiters as job cuts have ticked up over the past year. Even though LinkedIn’s revenue growth has slowed over the last year, Microsoft recorded $18.3 billion in profit overall for the quarter that ended in March, up 14% year over year.

Previously on...This is the second time LinkedIn has laid off workers this year. The network also cut jobs in February, The Information reported. Like several other recent rounds of layoffs, those reductions affected HR, as employees on LinkedIn’s talent acquisition team were let go.

A representative for the company confirmed sales, operations, and support teams within LinkedIn’s Global Business Organization were affected in this latest round.

LinkedIn also made the decision to sunset its Business Leadership Program, an 18-month opportunity geared toward recent graduates, according to a statement shared with HR Brew. On LinkedIn, incoming BLP associates indicated their offers had been rescinded due to this decision, sharing messages from the company stating they could not proceed with their placements.

LinkedIn gathers laid-off workers. It’s a bit meta to watch LinkedIn employees post about their layoffs, given layoff announcements on the platform have become something of a strategic art form for workers who’ve lost their jobs in recent years.

Outlets like CNBC and Lifehacker have offered strategies for workers seeking to pen a LinkedIn layoff announcement that will help them find new employment. In some cases, such posts go viral.

“It feels funny to be posting on LinkedIn about LinkedIn giving me the boot (almost feels like I should take to Facebook to protest!),” Connor Bernal, a strategy and operations associate who was laid off, posted on the platform, adding he hoped “to see firsthand how this amazing platform can help members like me find their next play.”

LinkedIn first introduced “open-to-work features” in June 2020, including a banner that allows members to show they’re in the market for a job. Currently, more than 20 million LinkedIn users have turned on its open-to-work feature, Francisco Tobon, a senior manager for corporate communications, told HR Brew via email. He added posts mentioning #opentowork were up 22% year over year in November 2022.

US benefit-eligible employees affected by this recent round of LinkedIn layoffs will receive career transition services, according to Tobon. Laid-off employees will also have access to an “internal mobility process” to see if there’s a new role within the company that’s a fit for their skills.

In a recent earnings call, Microsoft’s VP of investor relations Brett Iversen said the “persistently tight labor market,” had been good for LinkedIn’s business, although the rate of growth has been slowing since Q4 21. He noted the company’s Talent Solutions tool—geared toward recruiters and talent acquisitions professionals—drove revenue growth for the quarter ending in March.—CV