LinkedIn will cut 668 more jobs amid slow revenue growth

LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, stated on Monday, October 16, 2023, that it would have to cut 668 jobs across various departments such as engineering, talent, and finance. This would be the second round of layoffs in 2023 for the company. The social media network for professionals is experiencing slow revenue growth in 2023.

This layoff would affect more than 3% of the workforce at LinkedIn, which is currently 20,000 strong. The technology sector is having to cut tens of thousands of jobs this year, and LinkedIn is no exception to this.

In May, LinkedIn made the decision to reduce its workforce by 716 employees, primarily from sales, operations, and support teams. This move was aimed at streamlining its operations and eliminating organizational layers to facilitate faster decision-making.

LinkedIn announced in a blog post that, as they adapt their organizational structures and streamline decision-making processes, they remain committed to investing in strategic priorities for the future and maintaining their commitment to providing value to their members and customers.

According to employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the IT sector has laid off 141,516 people in the first half of 2023. In 2022, this number was around 6,000 for the same time period.

The main revenue streams for LinkedIn are its ad charges and subscriptions for job hunters as well as recruiters.

LinkedIn had an increase of 5% in revenue in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2023 year. This is lower than the previous year, where the revenue growth was 10%.

A decrease in hiring along with less spending on advertisements are the two main reasons for this slow growth, as stated by Microsoft. Despite this, Microsoft has been adding new members to its community of 950 million.