eBay will cut about 9 percent of its workforce, roughly 1,000 jobs, according to an internal memo from chief executive Jamie Iannone. It is eBay's second round of layoffs this year. Iannone told staff that "our strategy is working," but that the next phase "requires us to make thoughtful choices about where we focus and invest."
According to Reuters, the company wants to simplify how it operates and shift money to its fastest-growing areas. Affected employees will be told in the coming days.
Second round this year
eBay cut about 800 jobs, around 6 percent of its staff, in February, and had also made cuts in early 2023 and early 2024. This month's reduction takes the 2026 total to roughly 1,800 positions if both rounds go ahead as reported.
After the GameStop bid
The cuts come about five months after eBay rejected a $56 billion takeover bid from GameStop, calling it "neither credible nor attractive," The Next Web reported. GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen had promised to find $2 billion in cost savings within a year of buying eBay. eBay has not tied the layoffs to the bid, and the reports I reviewed do not either.
The strategy behind the cuts
Iannone, who has run eBay since 2020, has focused on categories such as luxury goods, refurbished items and collectibles. Earlier this year eBay bought secondhand fashion app Depop, which competes with Vinted, a rival expanding in the US, per The Next Web. Cutting jobs while investing in these areas fits the "fastest-growing areas" language in the memo.
