Microsoft's LinkedIn Initiates New Round of Layoffs, Proportion May Reach 5%

Microsoft's LinkedIn is advancing with layoffs.Reuters, citing two sources, reports that LinkedIn plans to announce layoffs on Wednesday, with one person stating that the proportion is about 5% of the total number of employees. Bloomberg, however, indicates that the full scale is still uncertain.

Microsoft has been continuously reducing positions in recent years, against a backdrop of data center and other AI service infrastructure construction compressing profit margins. LinkedIn's website shows that the department has more than 17,500 full-time employees worldwide. Based on this estimation, a 5% layoff ratio means that the number of people affected could be close to a thousand.

For Microsoft, LinkedIn is not a marginal business. After Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016, the business has largely remained independent in its operations and contributed $17.8 billion in revenue in the most recent fiscal year ending May 2025. A company spokesperson stated:

“As part of regular business planning, we have implemented organizational adjustments to better position ourselves for future success.”

Reuters says that LinkedIn sells recruitment tools and subscription services, with revenue in the most recent quarter growing by 12% year-over-year, and showing an accelerated growth trend in 2026. However, one of the informed sources also emphasized that the reason for the layoffs is not to replace LinkedIn positions with AI.