What you need to know
- LinkedIn announced nearly 1,000 layoffs in a letter from the company's CEO.
- The layoffs are result of a lower demand for recruitment due to coronavirus (COVID-19).
- Affected employees will receive at least ten weeks of severance pay and several other methods of assistance from LinkedIn.
LinkedIn announced approximately one thousand layoffs in a letter from the company's CEO Ryan Roslansky today. Those employees represent about 6 percent of LinkedIn's Global Sales and Talent Acquisition organizations. The layoffs are due to the current global pandemic's effect on recruitment, according to Roslansky.
The job cuts will come from the sales and hiring divisions of LinkedIn around the world. Roslansky states in his letter that those laid off will receive at minimum ten weeks of severance pay. People affected in the United States will receive 12 months of health care. LinkedIn will also provide career transition assistance, immigration support, and the option to keep LinkedIn cell phones, laptops, and other recently purchased equipment for working from home. Affected employees may potentially be hired for newly-created roles.
The layoffs include eliminating certain roles within LinkedIn's GSO. Roslansky states:
COVID-19 is having a sustained impact on the demand for hiring, both in our LTS business and in our company. In GSO and GTO, there are roles that are no longer needed as we adjust to the reduced demand in our internal hiring and for our talent products globally.
Several LinkedIn employees will receive word regarding their future with the company later this week. Roslansky explains in his letter that he sent the email at 11pm PT last night "to make sure that employees around the globe hear all this important news from [him] first." The CEO outlines when people will be informed in the letter depending on their country:
- Affected employees who work in North America, Brazil, and parts of APAC will be made aware of impacts to their roles in the next 24 hours. These departing employees will be with us through August 21st. Impacted employees in Dubai will also be notified in the next 24 hours and will be with us through September 29th.
- Employees in Ireland, the UK, and Australia have begun consultation about potential impacts to roles and we will continue to work through those locally.
- Employees who work in France, Sweden, and Spain will learn more about proposed impact to roles during August, and employees in Italy will hear about proposed impacts in September.
While the layoffs unfortunately affect a large number of people, Roslansky states that these are the only reductions the company is planning.
