LinkedIn among teams hit by Microsoft’s 6,000 job layoffs

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More layoffs are coming at LinkedIn, as Microsoft, its parent company, is letting go of around 6,000 employees across its global workforce. That’s about 3% of Microsoft’s total staff. While the company hasn’t revealed exactly how many LinkedIn jobs will be affected, it has confirmed that LinkedIn is part of the planned cuts.

Interestingly, these job losses aren’t because the company is underperforming. In fact, Microsoft recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $25.8 billion for the quarter. LinkedIn itself saw a 7% rise in revenue compared to last year. So why the cuts?

According to Microsoft, it’s all about reducing management layers and streamlining operations. The goal is to boost efficiency and cut costs which might also mean more reliance on artificial intelligence. Microsoft has been doubling down on AI, investing billions in OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT), and integrating AI tools into nearly all its platforms, including LinkedIn.

This isn’t the first round of layoffs. Microsoft already made performance-related cuts in January. LinkedIn also let go of 200 employees late last year. With operations in China being scaled back, there’s a chance fewer people will be needed for oversight there too.

While it’s still unclear exactly where the axe will fall, one thing is certain: LinkedIn, like much of the tech industry, is in the middle of big changes. And with Microsoft betting big on AI, we might see fewer people but more machines handling tasks behind the scenes.