E-commerce giant eBay announced today that it will be downsizing its workforce by approximately 9% or 1,000 employees due to ongoing economic challenges. In a blog post, the company revealed its plans to also remove contract roles in the coming months.
The decision comes from CEO Jamie Iannone, who acknowledged that the company hired quickly but did not see enough growth to warrant the number of employees.
I believe we have hired too quickly without proper justification and are now facing external pressures such as the challenging macroeconomic environment. However, we also recognize that there are areas within our control that we can improve upon. While we are making progress towards our strategy, our headcount and expenses have exceeded the growth of our business.
To address these challenges, the company will be implementing organizational changes to streamline teams, improve the overall customer experience, and better meet the needs of their global customers.
eBay is not alone in making major workforce changes. Other companies including Google, Amazon (including Twitch and Audible), Discord, Duolingo, Pixar, and Unity have also announced job cuts in January 2024.
In the third quarter of 2023, eBay reported a revenue of $2.5 billion and profits of $1.3 billion. However, their fourth-quarter guidance was weaker as they believed consumer spending was on the decline. The company also earned $2.2 billion by selling their equity in online advertising business Adevinta to Permira and Blackstone last year. In July, eBay acquired Certilogo, a company that provides digital IDs for apparel. The company’s fourth-quarter earnings will be disclosed next month.
Recently, eBay has been involved in a few controversies. Earlier this month, they agreed to pay $3 million in a corporate cyberstalking case involving a US-based couple. Last September, the Department of Justice accused the company of selling products that could potentially harm the environment and public health.
