eBay Cuts 9% Of Workforce In Second Major Round Of Layoffs This Year
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eBay is cutting approximately 9% of its workforce in another major round of layoffs, just eight months after eliminating roughly 800 positions earlier this year.
CEO Jamie Iannone announced the latest cuts in an internal memo sent to employees Tuesday evening, October 20. A copy of the memo obtained by Reuters confirms the company is reducing headcount as part of an effort to simplify operations, sharpen priorities and redirect resources toward areas with greater growth potential.
"Our strategy is working and continuing to capture the significant opportunity ahead requires us to make thoughtful choices about where we focus and invest," Iannone told employees.
"As part of these changes, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by approximately 9%."
Affected employees will be notified in the coming days, according to the memo. The company has not yet disclosed the total number of positions being eliminated or which departments and locations will be most heavily impacted.
In a statement to Value Added Resource, an eBay spokesperson said the reductions are intended to ensure the company can "continue to operate from a position of strength by aligning our teams and resources with our top strategic priorities."
eBay did not provide additional details about the number of employees affected, which teams or locations are impacted, or whether any positions will be relocated or replaced.
The latest cuts follow layoffs affecting approximately 800 employees in February, representing about 6% of eBay's workforce at the time. Those reductions included significant cuts to engineering, development, payments and finance positions at the company's California offices, with some employees reporting their jobs were being moved overseas.
Liz Morton
The announcement follows strong second-quarter earnings, when eBay reported $22.4 billion in gross merchandise volume and $3.1 billion in revenue, both up 15% year over year. The company completed its approximately $1.4 billion cash acquisition of Depop in July.
eBay also faces continued pressure from GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen, whose unsolicited $56 billion acquisition proposal in May called for cutting $2 billion in annual expenses, including significant reductions in sales and marketing, product development and administrative costs.
Cohen has been particularly critical of eBay's staffing levels, telling Flipwise founder Justin Glow in a May interview, "I think that a business like eBay can be run from my house. It does not require 11-and-a-half-thousand employees."
Liz Morton
eBay's board rejected the acquisition proposal, but GameStop has since increased its ownership stake to approximately 9.8%. eBay has not indicated whether Cohen's proposals played any role in the latest restructuring.
Employees posting anonymously on TheLayoff.com say meetings with managers have begun appearing on calendars for Wednesday, October 21, though the full scope of the reductions remains unclear.
This is a developing story. Additional details will be added as they become available.
