LinkedIn’s Irish workforce braces for cuts as company to lose 960 jobs globally

LinkedIn’s Irish workforce is preparing itself for cuts as the professional networking site said it would trim its global workforce by 6 per cent.

The company is to shed 960 jobs globally as the coronavirus pandemic is having a sustained impact on demand for its recruitment products. Jobs will be cut across sales and hiring divisions of the group.

Announcing the plan in a message posted on LinkedIn's website, chief executive Ryan Roslansky confirmed that Ireland would be affected, saying consultations had begun about the potential impact.

It has not yet been confirmed how many roles will be cut in Ireland. Last year, LinkedIn said it would create an additional 800 jobs in Ireland by the middle of 2020, bringing its total workforce to 2,000.

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“I want you to know these are the only layoffs we are planning,” Mr Roslansky said in his message.

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn helps employers assess a candidate’s suitability for a role: for their part, employees use the platform to find new jobs. As lockdowns to contain the coronavirus have hit businesses around the world, LinkedIn’s business has been hit with companies laying off staff or sharply curtailing hiring.

That has weakened demand for the recruiting tools offered by LinkedIn’s talent solutions group.

“Covid-19 is having a sustained impact on the demand for hiring, both in our talent solutions business and in our company,” Mr Roslansky said in a statement.

Consolidation

The company said it planned to consolidate some parts of the talent solutions business with its learning management system group to avoid “duplicating costly platforms, systems and tools internally”. The company is also switching from a field sales team to service small-business customers to an online system.

LinkedIn said employees affected by its job cuts would be informed this week and they would start receiving invitations in the next few hours to meetings to learn more about next steps.

“If you don’t receive a meeting invite, you are not directly impacted by this change,” Mr Roslansky said.

Affected staff would be able to keep company-issued mobile phones, laptops and recently-purchased equipment to help them work from home while making career transitions, he said.

LinkedIn will provide at least 10 weeks of severance pay as well as health insurance for a year for US employees, and will hire for newly-created roles from laid-off staff, the company said. – Additional reporting: Reuters