LinkedIn Announces Hundreds of Layoffs as Tech Sector Continues Slide

LinkedIn announced it would be cutting staff as layoffs in the tech sector pile up.

On Monday, the professional networking company said it was making changes to its global business organization and its China strategy, which would "result in a reduction of roles for 716 employees."

LinkedIn, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2016 for $26 billion, is headquartered in Sunnyvale and retains an office in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood. The company has around 20,000 full-time employees, according to its website.

The announcement makes LinkedIn the latest tech employer to cut back staff as the tech sector adjusts to higher interest rates.

In February, LinkedIn revealed plans to cut 91 jobs with a focus on recruitment roles—a likely sign of staffing pullbacks to come.

Bay Area tech firms that have laid off staff this year include Salesforce, Amazon, eBay, Twilio and Twitter. Many of those firms acknowledged aggressive hiring during the pandemic that later necessitated layoffs as economic conditions changed.

In the San Francisco area, data shows that new job creation in tech is no longer outpacing layoffs —a dynamic that kept the overall SF labor picture rosy last year despite numerous layoff announcements.