LinkedIn lays off 5% of workforce after abrupt internal memo

LinkedIn announced cutting 5% of the workforce on Wednesday, May 13.

Around 875 employees as part of a broader cost-cutting and reorganisation effort, according to an internal memo viewed by Business Insider and confirmed by Reuters.

According to the statement released by CEO Daniel Shapero, the company will be making layoffs in the Global Business Organisation, marketing, engineering, and product management. 

The affected individuals will get a notice meeting immediately after the memo.

Apart from laying off some people, Microsoft's professional networking site will be scaling down its expenditure on marketing efforts, vendor spending, client events, and underutilised office spaces. 

The company will also be shutting down its Graz, Austria, office.

The status of employees in Asia and the Pacific will be confirmed by Thursday, May 14.

Shapero wrote: “Economic opportunity is one of the societal issues of our time. We need to reinvent how we work, with agile teams focused on our highest priorities.”

As reported by Business Insider, a LinkedIn spokesperson confirmed: “As part of our regular business planning, we’ve implemented organisational changes to best position ourselves for future success.”

It has been clarified that layoffs have no connection with artificial intelligence replacing jobs, despite widespread industry concerns about AI-driven disruption.

Till now, 103,000 tech jobs have been cut in 2026, nearing the 124,000 total from all of 2025.