LinkedIn slashes hundreds of jobs: Staff told to embrace AI amid major cost-cutting drive

LinkedIn is undergoing a major organisational shake-up, with its marketing team among those hit by a fresh wave of layoffs. The company is reportedly moving to cut costs and reshape its workforce, placing a heavy emphasis on the growing role of artificial intelligence in its future operations. The job cuts are part of a wider restructuring that is affecting around 875 employees across the company.

In an internal email sent to staff on Wednesday, which was viewed by Business Insider, LinkedIn's chief marketing and strategy officer, Jessica Jensen, confirmed that roles were being reduced "across our team". A spokesperson for the company declined to provide specific numbers on how many marketing staff were affected, stating only that it is implementing "organisational changes" to best position itself for the future.

'Growth is more competitive'

The memo from Ms Jensen shed light on the pressures facing the Microsoft-owned platform. "Growth is more competitive, infrastructure costs continue to rise and AI is reshaping how work gets done," the email read. "So we are at a point where our work is important and deeply valued, and we need to reduce costs in Marketing to ensure LinkedIn is positioned for thefuture we're building."

Staff whose roles were being cut were told to expect a calendar invitation titled 'Attendance Required: Marketing Organisational Updates' within the hour. The memo bluntly stated: "If you do not receive this exact invite your role is not part of the reductions or proposed reductions." For those departing, Ms Jensen offered her thanks for their "care, creativity and commitment," adding that they had "made a lasting impact".

A three-pronged strategy for the future

The memo outlined three key areas for the organisational changes. The first is a move to sharpen the company's financial focus. Alongside the "difficult role reductions," Ms Jensen announced that the team would be reducing its paid media and programme spending. This typically involves paying for promotion on platforms like Google Ads. The plan is to continue investing only in areas with the highest return, aiming to be "more intentional with our resources".

Secondly, the company is focusing its investments on areas it believes can drive high growth by 2027. This includes concentrating marketing efforts in the US and UK markets. The final point focused on setting up teams for success by embracing "new AI-enabled tools and workflows that allow our human creativity and judgment to go further, faster". This pivot towards AI is a recurring theme, with the company also planning to bring teams that do similar work closer together to improve efficiency.

A paradox of performance and layoffs

The cuts at LinkedIn are part of a broader company-wide reduction of approximately 875 positions, affecting not just marketing but also the engineering, product, and Global Business Organisation teams. The decision has raised eyebrows, as it comes at a time of strong financial performance for the company, which recently reported surpassing $5 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, marking a 12 per cent year-over-year growth.

This places LinkedIn squarely in line with a growing list of tech giants pushing for AI efficiency while reducing their headcount. Cisco recently announced an AI-driven restructuring affecting around four thousand roles, while companies like Coinbase and Block have also pointed to increased productivity from AI as a reason for layoffs. According to reports, over 103,000 workers in the tech industry have lost their jobs so far in 2026, as companies grapple with economic pressures and the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence.

While streamlining operations, LinkedIn is also investing heavily in the new technology. The company recently launched what it calls an "AI labor marketplace," a platform where people can earn money by training AI chatbots to improve at tasks ranging from coding to nursing.

This widespread restructuring signals a significant strategic shift across the technology industry, as even highly profitable companies reallocate resources to prioritise a future increasingly shaped by AI.