LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslanky has announced that the company will cut 716 jobs. It is also discontinuing InCareer, an app aimed at the Chinese market.
In a letter, LinkedIn’s top executive says it is making the decisions because of “fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic environment.” Roslanky highlights three themes for motivation: a reorganization of ways of working, increased agility and internal teams focused on growth. Ultimately, all of these boil down to the same thing: LinkedIn will have to do the same work with fewer people, as many tech companies are currently stating. Parent company Microsoft also announced early this year that it was cutting many jobs.
InCareer
The main product that expires with this is InCareer. The app had been launched in December 2021 after LinkedIn itself struggled to comply with Chinese authorities. However, the new InCareer app faced formidable homegrown competition in China. The biggest player, Maimai, has 120 million users. InCareer will be phased out starting Aug. 9.
LinkedIn says it will still continue to operate in China, albeit indirectly. It says it wants to assist local companies in dealing with and engaging employees abroad.
It is yet another example of the rift between the West and China in the tech market. Allegations of spying in Western countries by Chinese companies mostly led to export bans and other measures, such as the banning of Huawei.