PayPal has announced plans to reduce its workforce by 2,500 employees, representing 9% of its global staff, following a similar move made a year ago.
The decision, communicated by CEO Alex Chriss to the staff, aims to “right-size” the company through both direct job cuts and the elimination of open positions.
Affected employees will be notified by the end of the week, according to the digital payments giant.
PayPal is facing increased competition from rivals like Apple, Zelle, and Block, prompting the need for strategic adjustments.
Chriss, who joined from software company Intuit last year, was tasked with revitalizing PayPal’s performance, particularly its share price, which has seen a decline of over 20% in the past year.
The company’s recent efforts include the launch of new AI-driven products and a one-click checkout feature.
However, these moves come amidst a broader trend of job cuts in the tech industry, with over 260,000 jobs lost in the sector last year alone.
The wave of layoffs includes announcements from numerous tech giants such as Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, TikTok, and Salesforce, totaling 25,000 job cuts in the last month alone.
Block, led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, also initiated job cuts as part of its plan to reduce its workforce by 1,000 by the end of the year.
Executives have attributed the job losses to factors like the pandemic hiring spree and high inflation, resulting in weakened consumer demand.
Nevertheless, some tech workers are pushing back, with a union representing Google employees criticizing the company’s decision to cut hundreds of jobs despite its substantial profits.
Source-BBC
