In a late-night email to employees yesterday, LinkedIn has announced that it will be cutting around 960 jobs, which is close to 6% of its overall workforce. The letter from CEO Ryan Roslansky cites that the “extremely difficult decision” is being made because of the global pandemic and because fewer companies are hiring. The layoffs affect the Global Sales and Talent Acquisition organizations.
Roslansky notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to reduced demand for the company’s “internal hiring and for [its] talent products globally”. Therefore, some roles across the Sales and Talent Acquisition organizations are no longer needed. He also adds that for sales team, an online servicing model makes more sense over a field sales team and that the company has made investments in this regard.
As for those that are affected by the cuts, the company will be providing a minimum of 10 weeks of severance pay. However, the amount may increase based on tenure, country-specific practices, and other variables. Additionally, the firm will be paying out all due bonuses in full for those eligible. In the U.S., employees affected will receive pay for 12 months of health insurance. Across other regions, the Microsoft-owned company will provide six months of healthcare or cash equivalent for premium payments.
In addition to the payments, Roslansky notes that the employees will be offered a six-month training program called Momentum to help them prepare for interviews, job search strategies, LinkedIn learning courses, and more. Laid-off employees will be allowed to keep cell phones, laptops, and “recently purchased equipment to help work from home”. The firm is also providing immigration support and for those on company-sponsored visas. Affected employees will also be considered for hiring for newly created roles in the company.
Impacted employees will be communicated in a staged manner. While employees in North America, Brazil, and parts of the APAC region will be reached out to in the next 24 hours, those in France, Sweden, and Spain will be informed in August and those in Italy in September. Employees that are being informed this month will be with the company until August 21.