According to a filing with the SEC, eBay intends to eliminate 500 positions, or about 4% of the staff.
In a memo to staff, CEO Jamie Iannone explained that the company's decision to reduce its workforce was based on a review of the global financial climate during the past several months.
"As a result of these considerations and our future-forward plans, I have some hard news to share. Over the next 24 hours, we'll be letting approximately 500 employees globally know that their jobs will be eliminated. There is no easy way to communicate this - but I do want to share with you why we are making this decision," Iannone wrote.
According to him, the reductions will improve eBay's capacity to provide better customer experiences and will allow the company to concentrate on areas where it can have the greatest impact.
"Importantly, this shift gives us additional space to invest and create new roles in high-potential areas - new technologies, customer innovations and key markets - and to continue to adapt and flex with the changing macro, ecommerce and technology landscape," Iannone wrote in the release.
The affected employees will be notified within the next 24 hours, he said.
eBay's warning of layoffs occurred on the same day that another San Jose-based tech business, Zoom, announced it will reduce its employment by 15%. About 1,300 Zoom employees are on the chopping block, and CEO Eric Yuan has announced that he will accept a 98% pay cut.
Yuan admitted responsibility for permitting his company to expand too quickly during the COVID-19 outbreak.
"We didn't take as much time as we should have to thoroughly analyze our teams or assess if we were growing sustainably, toward the highest priorities," Yuan wrote to employees.
A week earlier, PayPal also announced layoffs affecting approximately 7% of its workforce. In recent months, Shopify, Stripe, and Amazon have also reduced their workforces.
The wave of layoffs extends beyond the e-commerce industry, as companies of all sizes, notably in the technology sector, have moved to reduce their workforces following rapid recruiting during the pandemic. Numerous leaders have emphasized the importance of aligning staffing with the current economic reality. In addition, Wall Street is more focused on cost control in the current environment.
Shares of eBay were up slightly in extended trading Tuesday.
