// eBay plans to cut 500 jobs, about 4% of its staff in the latest bout of layoffs for the ecommerce sector
// CEO Jamie Iannone says the move to cut staff gives the business ‘additional space to invest and create new roles in high-potential areas’
eBay is joining the ranks of other tech companies with mass layoffs and has said it will be cutting 500 jobs in order to “continue to be successful”.
The online giant will be axing about four per cent of its workforce, according to a memo written to employees on Tuesday by eBay chief executive Jamie Iannone.
He said: “To create long-term, sustainable growth for eBay, we need to evolve our organization as we take the next step in our strategy — focused on driving growth, building a trusted marketplace, empowering enthusiasts and seeding new technologies for the future”.
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The move gives eBay more room to invest and create roles in “high-potential areas” such as technology, innovations, and key markets as well as boosting the efficiency and speed of decision-making.
The business is being hit by dampened consumer demand following a pandemic binge on clothes and household items from shoppers stuck at home
According to data from FactSet, the business is anticipating a 14m drop in active buyers in their end-of-year trading update later this month.
Global tech giants including Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Spotify have all kicked off the new year by unveiling thousands of job cuts.
Last month Amazon revealed plans to cut over 18,000 jobs from its workforce – the largest set of layoffs in the US tech giant’s history, citing economic uncertainty.
The online giant which employs 1.5 million people globally, did not say which countries the job cuts would be in, but confirmed they would include Europe.
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