Layoffs Of More Than 700 Employees, LinkedIn Closes InCareer In China

Layoffs fell on more than 700 LinkedIn employees. (photo: dock. freepic)

JAKARTA - The Employment Termination Storm (PHK) is still continuing, this time it hit more than 700 LinkedIn employees. The company also plans to close its app in China.

LinkedIn Chief Executive Ryan Roslansky in his announcement to employees stated the reasons for the layoffs as a result of service closures in China as well as shifting customer behavior and slower revenue growth.

"With more volatile markets and customer demand, and to serve a growing and developing market more effectively, we are expanding the use of vendors," said Roslansky.

"We also remove layers, reduce management roles, and expand responsibility for making decisions more quickly," he added.

However, it did not say how many layoffs would occur in China. LinkedIn will also close the InCareer app, a simple version of its international service, in August.

InCareer app users can only find work and cannot post or share articles like they did on LinkedIn.

"After careful consideration, we have made the decision to stop InCareer effective August 9, 2023," LinkedIn said in a statement.

"Despite our early progress, InCareer is facing stiff competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate, which ultimately led us to a decision to stop the service."

As part of its strategic reshuffle, LinkedIn said it would open more than 250 new roles in its operating team and business management teams starting May 15.

LinkedIn has previously laid off nearly 1,000 employees in July 2020, or about six percent of its global workforce. At the time, LinkedIn's business experienced a decline in recruitment as the company laid off staff or drastically limited recruitment.

When LinkedIn started its Mandarin version of its website in 2014, LinkedIn simply took a different path from Facebook and Google.

Companies partner with local companies and begin censoring content of millions of Chinese subscribers according to strict laws, as quoted by the Seattle Times and DailyMail, Wednesday, May 10.

Finally, Roslansky said it would maintain its presence in China to help companies operating in the country hire and train employees from abroad.