LinkedIn announced that it will lay off 960 employees, about 6% of its global workforce, as the coronavirus pandemic has slowed hiring across the country and demand for Sunnyvale’s hiring services has dwindled.
CEO Ryan Roslansky announced the layoffs in a blog post, saying the cuts would affect the company’s Global Sales and Talent Acquisition departments and that they were the only planned layoffs at this time.
“LinkedIn is not immune to the effects of the global pandemic,” wrote Roslansky. “Our Talent Solutions business continues to be affected as fewer and fewer companies, including ours, need to hire at the same volume as before.”
Roslansky said the company, which Microsoft bought in 2016 for $ 26 billion, will focus more on online sales.
“This online channel approach will allow us to better serve the millions of small businesses that will need LinkedIn through this pandemic and beyond, and it aligns with how we plan to focus our field sales efforts on our relationships of greater value, “he wrote.
The cuts are the latest to hit big tech companies in the Bay Area that once seemed invincible as the protracted economic effects of the pandemic drag the economy to a lower level.
The first rounds of major technology layoffs were at companies directly involved in sectors such as travel, which were first the pandemic and the shelter-in-place.
In May, the Uber transportation company laid off 3,700 recruiting and customer service employees worldwide, about 14% of its workforce.
Uber’s rival Lyft cut 982 jobs at the same time, implementing leave and pay cuts for hundreds of other employees.
Vacation rental site Airbnb split a quarter of its workforce in May as shutdown orders halted travel and the company saw revenue drop.
LinkedIn has been one of Microsoft’s fastest growing business units, but the parent company noted in its April earnings report that it had begun to see a slowdown in advertising spending on the service.
Roslansky, a long-time LinkedIn executive who took over as CEO last month, wrote to employees that the company would provide severance pay and cover employee health insurance for one year, as well as provide professional relocation services. .
The company said it will allow employees to keep company smartphones and laptops and will also help with any immigration issues that arise for workers with company-sponsored visas.
“I am sure we will come out stronger and stronger than ever,” Roslansky wrote.
Chase DiFeliciantonio is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice
