Microsoft-owned LinkedIn cuts 5% of workforce in latest tech industry layoffs

LinkedIn, a social media platform built to help working professionals connect with others, laid off hundreds of employees.

First reported by Bloomberg, LinkedIn, which has been owned by Microsoft since 2016, cut approximately 5% of its 17,000-person workforce. While the Washington Employment Security Department (WARN) has yet to reveal how many Puget Sound-area employees have been affected by the most recent layoffs, several local employees stated they were laid off in posts on LinkedIn, according to The Seattle Times.

LinkedIn has an office in downtown Bellevue.

Less than a month ago, LinkedIn named Chief Operating Officer Daniel Shapero as its newest CEO, succeeding Ryan Roslansky, who remained with LinkedIn’s parent company, Microsoft, as the executive vice president of LinkedIn and Microsoft Office.

Microsoft layoffs in 2025

Microsoft laid off roughly 15,000 employees in 2025, including more than 3,200 Washington-based employees from its Redmond and Bellevue campuses between May and September of that year.

More than half of Microsoft’s layoffs in Washington this year came in a single filing on May 13, when 1,985 employees were laid off at the company’s Redmond campus.

Additionally, Microsoft laid off 305 employees in June, and another 830 jobs were cut in July.

In August, 40 Microsoft jobs were cut, representing the smallest layoff filing since June 5, 2023, which affected 22 employees.

Last month, Microsoft offered a one-time voluntary retirement program to 8,750 eligible employees, who have until June 8 to accept the offer. If they choose to accept the company’s voluntary retirement, their last day with Microsoft will be July 1 — the beginning of the company’s 2027 fiscal year.

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