LinkedIn fires 6% of its workforce due to coronavirus impact

After weeks of discussion, LinkedIn today announced its decision to fire 960 employees, or about 6 percent of its workforce, across its Global Sales and Talent Acquisition organizations. There are two main reasons behind this decision.

1. COVID-19 has affected the demand for hiring globally. So, LinkedIn Talent Solutions will have less sales than before.
2. Due to change in strategy, there are a set of roles in GSO that are no longer needed.

LinkedIn also announced that it is offering a comprehensive financial, healthcare and career support for all the affected employees.

• Financial: We’re providing a minimum of ten weeks of severance pay. This may increase based on tenure and country-specific practices, and is in addition to a paid notification period that varies by country. In addition, a payment in lieu of FY20 bonuses will be paid out at full target for those who are bonus-eligible, and departing employees will be eligible for our August stock vesting.
• Healthcare: In the U.S., we’ll pay for 12 months of continuing health insurance through COBRA to give employees and their families peace of mind during uncertain times. More broadly across the globe, we are offering 6 months of healthcare continuation or the cash equivalent in group premiums where applicable based on local plans and regulations.
• Career transition assistance: We’ve created a special six-month offering called Momentum to help employees successfully find their next role. This includes 1:1 coaching, workshops, and LinkedIn Learning courses on interview prep, compensation fundamentals, job search strategies, and integrating into a new role. We’re also creating an opt-in directory to help departing employees showcase their experiences and be more discoverable to potential employers.
• Technology: All departing employees will have the opportunity to keep LinkedIn cell phones, laptops, and recently purchased equipment to help work from home, so they have the practical tools they need to help with career transitions.
• Immigration support: Our global immigration team will reach out to provide personalized support to those on company-sponsored visas, and LinkedIn will also pay for one-on-one consultations with external immigration legal advisors.
• Potential placements: As we invest in our most strategic areas for growth, we will be hiring for newly-created roles across the company, and we will work with employees impacted by today’s announcement to explore these opportunities.

LinkedIn will inform the affected employees based on the below schedule:

• Affected employees who work in North America, Brazil, and parts of APAC will be made aware of impacts to their roles in the next 24 hours. These departing employees will be with us through August 21st. Impacted employees in Dubai will also be notified in the next 24 hours and will be with us through September 29th.
• Employees in Ireland, the UK, and Australia have begun consultation about potential impacts to roles and we will continue to work through those locally.
• Employees who work in France, Sweden, and Spain will learn more about proposed impact to roles during August, and employees in Italy will hear about proposed impacts in September.

Source: LinkedIn