Ebay To Lay Off 500 Employees, Cites Focus On Creating New 'High-Potential' Roles

E-commerce giant eBay Inc. revealed Tuesday that it would cut 500 jobs globally, making the company the second in the tech industry to announce layoffs that day. The San Jose-based tech company has reportedly been hiring for new roles in its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace KnownOrigin.

"Over the past few months, we've taken a thoughtful look at where we are as a company with considerations of the macroeconomic situation around the world and how to best invest and operate so that we can continue to be successful...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," CEO Jamie Iannone said in a message to employees that was revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing Tuesday.

Iannone went on to reveal that the layoffs "are designed to strengthen our ability to deliver" eBay services better for customers, adding that "this shift gives us additional space to invest and create new roles in high-potential areas."

Among the "high-potential" areas Iannone mentioned were customer innovations and new technologies.

The layoffs will affect 4% of the e-commerce company's global workforce, Reuters reported.

Sales of eBay have declined over the past six quarters as consumers transitioned to other spending activities post-pandemic, according to Bloomberg.

On average, analysts are expecting the company to report a revenue drop of about 6% when it unveils its Q4 2022 results later this month.

Meanwhile, eBay has recently started hiring roles for its NFT marketplace company KnownOrigin.

In June, eBay acquired the entirety of KnownOrigin, a platform that allows artists and collectors to create, buy or sell NFTs.

"KnownOrigin has built up an impressive passionate and loyal group of artists and collectors making them a perfect addition to our community of sellers and buyers," Iannone said at the time.

One recent job post on LinkedIn stated that eBay was in search of a crypto counsel who would keep track of regulatory and policy developments in blockchain, among other tasks related to strategic and legal advice.

The company is also hiring for non-legal positions for its Web3 unit, including head of community and marketing executive. Web3 is the term used to describe the improved World Wide Web that uses blockchain technologies, NFTs and cryptocurrencies.

Aside from eBay, Zoom also announced layoffs Tuesday. The video conferencing company said it would slash 15% of its workforce, affecting about 1,300 employees.