Microsoft-owned LinkedIn notified employees Wednesday that it would cut approximately 5% of its global workforce, or around 900 positions, as part of an organizational restructuring effort.
The professional networking platform, which currently employs over 17,500 people worldwide, stated that the layoffs are aimed at reorganizing teams and shifting personnel toward faster-growing business areas.
CEO Daniel Shapero told staff in an internal memo that the reductions are necessary for the company to deliver increased impact to users and operate more profitably, according to Reuters.
Linked's Newest Layoffs
Job eliminations will span several departments, including engineering teams, product management, marketing, and LinkedIn's Global Business Organization, which handles sales and enterprise client relations.
Company leadership characterized the move as an organizational simplification designed to accelerate decision-making and reallocate staff toward higher-priority initiatives.
Sources familiar with the matter clarified to Reuters that the layoff rationale was not driven by artificial intelligence replacing jobs at LinkedIn, despite numerous technology companies citing AI as a factor in recent downsizing decisions. One insider emphasized that the workforce reduction was not influenced by AI automation, Business Times reported.
The cuts come despite LinkedIn reporting 12% revenue growth in its latest quarter, demonstrating continued financial expansion even as the company reduces headcount.
Workers in the Asia-Pacific region were scheduled to receive notification on Thursday regarding their employment status, according to a separate internal communication. As part of its cost-reduction measures, the company is also shuttering its office location in Graz, Austria.
Beyond workforce reductions, the company is also reviewing spending across vendor contracts, office facilities, customer events, and marketing programs as part of broader cost management efforts.
The announcement marks the latest in a series of workforce reductions across the technology sector in 2026. Industry tracker Layoffs.fyi has documented more than 103,000 technology worker job cuts so far this year, approaching the total number recorded throughout 2025, as per The Hindu Business Line.
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