Professional networking site LinkedIn announced on Tuesday that it will be slashing nearly 1,000 jobs, or nearly 6 percent of its global workforce, as an increasing number of companies are slowing down on hiring. The job cuts will take place over the next few weeks but employees will also be given severance pay for a certain period.
The Microsoft-owned networking site is one of the most preferred platforms globally for professionals searching for jobs as well as for employers to assess a candidate's potential for a particular job. Although tech companies have been comparatively less affected by the coronavirus pandemic, LinkedIn has been an indirect casualty due to the massive job freeze in other sectors.
Cuts to be Across Multiple Departments
LinkedIn made the announcement via a message posted on the company's website that it will be firing 960 employees across the board globally over the next few weeks. The majority of the job cuts will be in the sales and hiring division of the group. However, those fired would be paid a severance package of 10 week's pay as well as health insurance for a year for its US employees.
The company, at the same time, will also be hiring for newly created roles from the laid-off employees. The announcement comes just a day before Microsoft announces its quarterly results. However, LinkedIn confirmed that, as of now, it plans to cut only these jobs. "I want you to know these are the only layoffs we are planning," the company's chief executive Ryan Roslansky said in the message.
LinkedIn an Indirect Casualty
LinkedIn said that most of the employees who will be laid off would be intimated by this week. They would be receiving an invitation to attend a meeting where they would be briefed about the next steps including the severance package. The company also said that employees would be allowed to keep their company-issued cell phones, laptops and other equipment that were purchased lately to aid them in working from home. They will be allowed to use these things as they make career transitions.
Tech companies have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the coronavirus pandemic, with an increasing number of people relying on technology to support their lives. However, LinkedIn's case has been different. Although one of the market leaders in providing recruitment products and solutions, LinkedIn's business has been taking a beating due to a substantial decline in demand for its recruitment products, as companies across the globe have been firing employees and putting a freeze on hiring owing to the pandemic.
This has seen LinkedIn indirectly becoming a major casualty of the coronavirus crisis. In fact, LinkedIn had announced in January that it would expand its campus in Dublin. However, coronavirus struck just after, compelling the company to instead go for a job cut now.
