eBay latest tech company to announce layoffs

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — California-based eBay plans to slash its workforce by 4%, according to an SEC filing by the online e-commerce giant.

CEO Jamie Iannone wrote a letter to employees announcing that eBay is eliminating jobs in response to the global macroeconomic environment, CNBC reported.

“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.

“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 continued. Impacted employees are expected to be notified by Wednesday.

The CEO said employees will be provided with transition packages, including severance and employee incentive payments.

eBay’s layoff notification happened on the same day that another tech company headquartered in San Jose, Zoom, announced it will cut 15% of its workforce. About 1,300 Zoom employees are on the chopping block, and company CEO Eric Yuan said he will take a 98% salary cut.

Yuan acknowledged responsibility for allowing his company to grow too rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. “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.

Zoom and eBay are just the latest in the tech industry to start the year with a wave of job cuts.

Computer maker Dell announced Monday it was cutting about 6,600 jobs. Companies announcing layoffs in January included Amazon, Salesforce, Microsoft, Google, and Spotify.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.