EBay plans to lay off 1,000 workers, it told employees on Jan. 23. The layoffs will cover about 9% of eBay’s total workforce, CEO and president Jamie Iannone said in a blog post.
The online marketplace will also scale back on contract positions, he said without sharing specific information.
“We need to better organize our teams for speed — allowing us to be more nimble, bring like-work together, and help us make decisions more quickly. Today, I am sharing news about changes we are implementing to better position eBay for long-term, sustainable growth,” Iannone wrote. He did not share what parts of the company will see layoffs. “We’re implementing organizational changes that align and consolidate certain teams to improve the end-to-end experience, and better meet the needs of our customers around the world,” he said.
EBay ranks No. 6 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces database. The database ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by 2023 third-party GMV. Digital Commerce 360’s 2023 Global Online Marketplaces Report includes key insights into the biggest players in the database.
EBay’s 2023 vs. 2022
In its most recent fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, eBay revenue grew 5% year over year. That’s up to $2.5 billion from $2.38 billion in Q3 2022. EBay GMV also grew, up 2% to $17.99 billion.
That was a change of pace from 2022, when eBay GMV fell 15.4% for the year. In 2023, revenue and GMV rightsized to where they likely would have been without the pandemic, said James Risley, research data manager and senior analyst at Digital Commerce 360.
“Stronger supply chains coupled with retailers adding on new marketplaces to their ecommerce operations have forced eBay to find ways to increase revenue without GMV increases, and they seem to have done that,” he previously said.
Iannone referred to economic challenges in a call with analysts following the third-quarter earnings report.
“Inflationary pressures and rising interest rates continue to weigh on consumer confidence and pressured demand for discretionary goods,” he said.
Other layoffs
EBay is only the latest company to announce layoffs in retail and tech so far in 2024. Macy’s, Amazon, and Wayfair all cut their workforces in the first month of 2024.
Macy’s ranks No. 17 in the 2023 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000. The Top 1000 is a ranking of North America’s leading retailers by online sales. Amazon ranks No. 1, and Wayfair ranks No. 10.
Meanwhile, Google announced layoffs of hundreds of workers across hardware, digital assistant and engineering sectors earlier in January. Software company Unity plans to cut 25% of its workforce by March, impacting about 1,800 workers.
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