Indeed and Glassdoor are cutting 1,300 roles across their global teams as their parent company, Recruit Holdings, initiates a restructuring aimed at consolidating operations and doubling down on new technology priorities.
The job cuts affect roughly 6% of the HR tech workforce under Recruit Holdings and will be most heavily felt in the United States. Teams working in research and development, growth, people and sustainability, and other departments will be impacted.
But the downsizing will extend across countries and functions, one of the most significant reshuffles the company has carried out in recent years.
This isn’t the first round of layoffs for the group. In 2023, Indeed let go of 2,200 employees, about 15% of its workforce. Just earlier this year, the company cut another 1,000 jobs. Now, this fresh round brings the total to over 4,500 roles eliminated in less than two years.
In a memo to staff, Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba, CEO of Recruit Holdings, gave a short but pointed explanation: “AI is changing the world, and we must adapt by ensuring our product delivers truly great experiences for job seekers and employers.”
Though he did not directly link the layoffs to financial struggles, the statement signals a strategic redirection. Recruit appears to be following the same path as global tech giants like Meta and Microsoft, cutting labour costs in favour of investing in automation and machine learning tools.
As part of the shake-up, Recruit will fully merge Glassdoor’s operations into Indeed. This change means Glassdoor’s CEO, Christian Sutherland-Wong, will exit the company by 1 October.
LaFawn Davis, Indeed’s Chief People and Sustainability Officer, will also step down on September 1. She will be replaced by Ayano Senaha, who currently serves as Recruit’s Chief Operating Officer.
Recruit Holdings, which bought Indeed in 2012 and Glassdoor in 2018, employs about 20,000 people in its HR technology division. The firm did not reveal whether more cuts are planned.
This move shows a growing transition across the recruitment industry, where companies are digitising and reinventing how they operate in an increasingly automated world.
