LinkedIn Vacates Another 51K SF In SoMa After Latest Layoffs

LinkedIn, once the primary tenant of 222 Second St. in San Francisco’s Transbay District of SoMa, has reportedly placed another 51K SF of office space available for sublease. 

In the wake of recent high-profile layoff announcements at LinkedIn, the Microsoft-owned social networking company told the San Francisco Business Times it put four floors, 21 through 24, of the glass-wrapped high-rise on the block.

All told, LinkedIn has relinquished 115K SF over nine floors of the 26-story office tower, or more than 25% of the 450K SF skyscraper. During the most recent boom years for tech companies, LinkedIn signed a deal with landlord Tishman Speyer to prelease the entire asset, where it planned to relocate and consolidate its San Francisco area workforce. This move occurred in 2014, well before the pandemic tossed cold water all over the plans of many Bay Area tech companies. 

A decade later, LinkedIn’s leasing plans have fizzled, along with other tech tenants that once occupied buildings in the Transbay district. In October 2023, LinkedIn reported that it would trim 668 employees from its payrolls, bringing the grand total to roughly 1,400 as of mid-March.

TechCrunch recently reported that most of those positions were in research and development. ​​LinkedIn currently employs approximately 19,400 in more than 30 countries worldwide, which means approximately 7% of its workforce received layoff notices over the past year.

CRE services firm Colliers has the 51K SF listing. Colliers' brokerage team was not available for an interview with Bisnow. 

But when one door closes, another door opens. Last week, the Business Times reported that Silicon Valley Bank, now operating as a division of First Citizens Bank following its failure last year, opened its new office at 222 Second St. 

Financial services firms tend to have the most robust return-to-office policies, which makes them among the more common tenant types taking space currently. Early Warning Services, the creators of digital payments network Zelle and digital wallet service Paze, subleased the 25th floor in Q4 of 2023.