Ebay axes 1,000 jobs as tech firms cut costs

ONLINE retailer ebay is slashing 1,000 roles as it becomes the latest US technology company to be forced to make post-covid cutbacks.

Around 9pc of jobs at ebay will go, it said, as it comes under pressure to be “more nimble” in response to a more challenging economic environment.

Jamie Iannone, the chief executive, wrote to staff: “While we are making progress against our strategy, our overall headcount and expenses have outpaced the growth of our business.”

He said the changes were to “align and consolidate certain teams ... to better meet the needs of our customers”. Ebay is also scaling back work for outside contractors. Staff were asked to work from home yesterday to “provide some space and privacy” for employees who were being told their roles had been eliminated.

The latest job cuts come less than a year after ebay slashed 500 roles across its global team. Last February, it said a slowdown in consumer spending meant it was reducing its workforce.

It adds to the growing wave of job losses in the technology space after companies went on a major hiring spree during the pandemic when lockdowns meant more people were online.

Figures from analysis company Layoffs.fyi suggest more than 13,000 roles have been axed so far this year, on top of the 263,000 job cuts last year. Google recently said it was cutting roles, while Amazon culled positions in its Prime Video and studies businesses this month.

Tech businesses have been making the cuts after a market downturn. Facebook owner Meta lost more than three quarters of its value between September 2021 and October 2022.

Investors dumped tech stocks after a slowdown in advertising spend amid fears over a recession. Ebay shares bounced as much as 4.4pc early yesterday. But they are down more than 45pc since late 2021 as it struggled to compete with Amazon.

The number of active users on ebay dipped 3pc in September on a year-onyear basis.