LinkedIn cuts 875 jobs despite 12% revenue growth

LinkedIn is laying off approximately 875 employees, about 5% of its global workforce, as the Microsoft-owned professional networking platform reorganises its teams and redirects focus toward growing areas of its business.

The cuts, reported by Reuters citing sources familiar with the matter, are expected to take effect on Wednesday. LinkedIn’s global full-time headcount exceeds 17,500, according to figures on the platform’s website. The company has not identified which specific teams are affected.

The layoffs arrive despite strong financial performance. Microsoft’s securities filings show LinkedIn posted a 12% year-on-year revenue growth in its latest quarter, marking a pickup in growth momentum in 2026. The platform’s business spans recruiting tools, premium subscriptions, and advertising services. One source told Reuters that AI automation was not a factor behind the decision to cut headcount.

LinkedIn is far from alone. Meta, which recently cleared $200 billion in annual revenue, is planning to lay off 8,000 employees to redirect budget toward AI infrastructure. Atlassian grew cloud revenue by 26% year-on-year but still cut 10% of its staff. Snowflake reported 30% growth in product revenue, yet still conducted significant workforce reductions.

Also read: Tech layoffs in Q1 2026: A roundup of major job cuts amid AI-driven restructuring

Freshworks laid off around 660 staff, about 13% of its headcount, despite reporting increased revenue and profits in its most recent quarter. The pattern is consistent: growing revenues, shrinking headcount.

LinkedIn cuts, part of broader Microsoft restructuring

The LinkedIn reduction is part of ongoing workforce adjustments at Microsoft. Earlier this year, the company laid off approximately 7,000 employees (3% of its workforce), mainly in product and engineering, to reduce management layers and streamline its structure. Microsoft also announced separate cuts to sales employees.

More recently, the company offered voluntary retirement buyouts to US employees for the first time in its history, making approximately 7% of its domestic workforce eligible.

Eligibility required employees to hold a rank no higher than senior director, sit outside the sales incentive plan structure, and have a combined age-plus-tenure figure of at least 70.

LinkedIn has not issued a public statement on the reported layoffs at the time of publication.