Machiavelli on LinkedIn's 875-Person Purge: The New Prince Strikes

马基雅维利点评 LinkedIn 新 CEO 上任 22 天即裁员 875 人——新君主的第一刀，永远要快、要狠、要冠冕堂皇。

Script

"A new prince has seized LinkedIn's throne — and in just twenty-two days, he has drawn blood."
CEO Daniel Shapero fired 875 people last Wednesday — engineers, marketers, whole offices erased — just 22 days into his reign. He wrapped the blade in velvet, calling it "economic opportunity" — as if dismissal were a gift.
Revenue climbs 12 percent, five billion a quarter — yet the axe still falls.
As I wrote: cruelty well-used is swift, committed once for necessity. Strike before your court questions your right to rule.
Even co-founder Reid Hoffman warns: companies use AI as an excuse to purge. Yet LinkedIn claims machines played no part.
The supreme irony: LinkedIn sells the tools of employment — while dismissing its own workers. The merchant burns his own shop.
Remember: a wise prince never appears cruel — he merely appears necessary.

Key Points

  1. Day 22, 875 cuts — Shapero consolidated power before his court could question his mandate
  2. "Economic opportunity" — the Renaissance art of wrapping necessity in nobility
  3. 12% revenue growth — cruelty needs no financial justification, only political will
  4. The AI contradiction — Hoffman warns; LinkedIn denies; the truth lies between
  5. The merchant's irony — a hiring platform that fires its own people
Machiavelli's Take | Season 1, Episode 1 | May 2026

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