In response to a dip in revenue growth, Microsoft-owned professional networking platform LinkedIn has announced a second round of job cuts for the year, affecting 668 employees across its engineering, talent, and finance teams.
This move follows a challenging economic landscape within the technology sector, resulting in tens of thousands of job losses throughout the year. Microsoft does not reveal revenue of LinkedIn.
The latest layoffs impact over 3 percent of LinkedIn’s total workforce, which totals 20,000 employees. The technology sector, facing an uncertain economic outlook, has seen a significant increase in job losses, with 141,516 employees laid off in the first half of this year — a stark contrast to approximately 6,000 job cuts in the same period last year, as reported by employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
LinkedIn generates revenue through advertising sales and subscriptions, primarily targeting recruitment and sales professionals seeking suitable candidates. In the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2023 year, LinkedIn experienced a 5 percent increase in revenue year-on-year, a notable decrease from the 10 percent growth witnessed in the previous quarter, Reuters news report said.
Microsoft attributed the slowdown in LinkedIn’s growth to a decline in hiring and reduced advertising spending. Despite these challenges, LinkedIn continues to expand its community, now boasting an impressive 950 million members. In May of this year, LinkedIn previously implemented a restructuring strategy, resulting in the reduction of 716 jobs across sales, operations, and support teams to streamline operations and facilitate faster decision-making.
