E-commerce Platform eBay To Lay Off 9% Of Workforce Despite Profitable Quarter

E-commerce platform eBay is sacking around 1,000 employees, or 9 per cent of its full-time workforce, and the company will also lay off an unspecified number of contractors "over the coming months."

Profitable Quarter, but Need for Change

Despite registering a profit of US dollar 1.3 billion last quarter, eBay said that there is a "need for change." "Our strategy is the right one, but there is more we can do to ensure our success. We need to better organise our teams for speed - allowing us to be more nimble, bring like-work together, and help us make decisions more quickly," said Jamie Iannone, President and CEO, eBay.

He announced to reduce the current workforce by approximately 1,000 roles or an estimated 9 per cent of full-time employees. "Additionally, we plan to scale back the number of contracts we have within our alternate workforce over the coming months," the CEO said in an internal memo late on Tuesday.

Organizational Changes for Enhanced Customer Experience

The company is implementing organisational changes that align and consolidate certain teams to improve the end-to-end experience, and "better meet the needs of our customers around the world". "Leaders will communicate the news (of layoffs) directly via Zoom, and your VP or eLT member will send an email once the notifications in their group have been completed," the company informed.

eBay asked all US employees to work from home on January 24 "to provide some space and privacy for these conversations". "We're committed to treating everyone with respect and empathy through this transition and providing impacted employees with support and resources," said the CEO.

Reflection on Rapid Hiring

eBay said it hired too quickly. "While we are making progress against our strategy, our overall headcount and expenses have outpaced the growth of our business," said Iannone.