LinkedIn, the professional networking platform, has joined the ranks of tech companies that are downsizing their workforce, with a total of 716 positions being eliminated out of a workforce of 20,000. Additionally, the company will gradually phase out its local jobs app in China.
In a letter addressed to LinkedIn employees, CEO Ryan Roslansky explained that this decision aims to streamline operations in response to market fluctuations and changing customer demands. Over the past six months, major companies such as Amazon, Microsoft (LinkedIn’s parent company), and Alphabet have also announced job cuts.
Roslansky stated that this restructuring effort would lead to the creation of 250 new jobs, offering affected employees in sales, operations, and support teams the opportunity to apply for these positions.
Following its partial withdrawal from China in 2021 due to a “challenging environment,” LinkedIn will discontinue its remaining app, InCareers, by August 9th. InCareers exclusively caters to the Chinese market. However, LinkedIn will maintain a presence in China to assist companies operating there with hiring and employee training outside of the country.
Notably, LinkedIn has been the sole major Western social media platform functioning within China. When it launched in 2014, the company agreed to comply with the Chinese government’s requirements to operate in the country. This move garnered criticism from US Senator Rick Scott, who described it as “a gross appeasement and an act of submission to Communist China” in a letter addressed to LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
