LinkedIn announced its cuts on Monday; they will affect a total of 668 employees from LinkedIn’s engineering, talent, and finance teams, or more than 3% of its global workforce of over 20,000.
For LinkedIn, a subsidiary of Microsoft, this is the second round of layoffs this year. In May, the company cut 716 sales, operations and support team jobs. The aim is to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and facilitate quicker decision-making processes within the organization.
“While we are adapting our organizational structures and streamlining our decision making, we are continuing to invest in strategic priorities for our future and to ensure we continue to deliver value for our members and customers,” LinkedIn said.
This decision comes amidst slowing revenue growth: The company’s revenue in Q4 2022 increased by 10% while in Q4 of this year, it increased twice as slowly, by 5%.
The layoffs reflect broader trends within the tech sector, which has seen 141,516 job losses in the first half of 2023 as a result of economic uncertainty.
According to Layoffs.fyi, over 240,000 people in the global tech sector have been laid off since the beginning of 2023.
Rolls-Royce
A day later, on Tuesday, prominent British jet engine maker Rolls-Royce announced it would cut up to 2,500 jobs — about 6% of its global workforce of 42,000 people (half of which is in the UK).
The last time Rolls-Royce cut its workforce was in 2020, when it laid off 9,000 people to lower costs during the Covid pandemic.
The company’s new CEO, Tufan Erginbilgiç, who used to work for BP, says the move is part of a broader initiative to transition to a simpler and more future-oriented organizational structure.
“We are building a Rolls-Royce that is fit for the future. That means a more streamlined and efficient organisation that will deliver for our customers, partners and shareholders,” Erginbilgiç said. “This is another step on our multi-year transformation journey to build a high-performing, competitive, resilient and growing Rolls-Royce.”
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The cuts, according to Interactive Investor’s head of marketing Richard Hunter, could save Rolls-Royce up to £200m.
Unliked in LinkedIn’s case, Rolls-Royce’s finances have improved last year. This, however, is mostly due to the air travel industry’s post-pandemic recovery.
Other layoffs in the UK
In the UK, several other companies are also making significant workforce reductions. KPMG, a major consultancy firm, has announced job cuts affecting nearly 7% of its 1,700-people UK deal advisory division, citing a slowdown in dealmaking.
By 2025, mining and trading company Glencore is set to close its three underground copper mines in Mount Isa, Queensland, which is expected to result in about 1,000 job losses.
Swedish electric truck firm Volta Trucks’s bankruptcy, attributed to issues with Volta’s battery supplier in California, is expected to result in the loss of 600 jobs in the UK.
The closure of Swedish bearing maker SKF’s site in Luton is also expected to result in a loss of about 300 jobs.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Featured Photo: Rolls-Royce logo on a car. Featured Photo Credit: Rawpixel.
