With waning demand, LinkedIn eliminates over 700 jobs and removes its China app.

LinkedIn, Microsoft's professional social networking site, is slashing 716 positions and phasing out its employment platform in the Chinese market as it restructures its worldwide operations amid decreasing demand.

LinkedIn, which has 20,000 employees and operations in 36 countries, is the latest technology business to lay off workers.

Job losses at the firm, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last week, add to the larger IT industry's huge layoffs, which are being pushed by a desire to run leaner structures to reduce costs in the face of falling earnings and economic challenges.

“Over the years we've had to make hard decisions to ensure we were setting the company up to deliver on our vision, and I'm sharing one of those decisions today,” LinkedIn chief executive Ryan Roslansky wrote in a letter to employees.

“As we guide LinkedIn through this rapidly changing landscape, we are making changes to our global business organisation and our China strategy that will result in a reduction of roles for 716 employees.”

LinkedIn is reducing positions in its sales, operations, and support divisions as it simplifies the firm. The reorganization entails eliminating layers, lowering managerial positions, and extending duties. Since the dot-com bubble burst, the US IT industry has shed hundreds of thousands of jobs. Alphabet, Facebook, Meta, Yahoo, Zoom, and Spotify are among the companies that have laid off thousands of workers in recent months. Meta Platforms, Amazon, Indeed, and Microsoft have all announced employment losses in recent months.

LinkedIn's China strategy will be on aiding firms in hiring, marketing, and training abroad, while InCareer will be phased out. As the corporation invests in key growth areas, the focus will remain on cost reducing.