eBay to cull 10 percent of its global workforce

by Stevie Smith - Oct 6 2008, 18:12

In a move supposedly designed to enable better streamlining of its overall business structure, San Jose-based Internet auction behemoth eBay Inc. has this week said it is shedding around 1,000 of its staff around the world

While initial reductions will likely equate to around 10 percent of eBay’s entire workforce, several hundred temporary workers are also expected to be lost in the cull, reports the BBC news site.

News of eBay’s decision to swing its merciless scythe of unemployment arrives alongside an announcement by the company that it is spending more than a billion USD in acquiring online payment business Bill Me Later and also two Danish classified advertising Web sites.

Expected to bolster the positioning of eBay’s leading PayPal payments service, Bill Me Later is hitting eBay in the pocket for close to $950 million USD in total costs, while Danish outfits Den Bla Avis and BilBasen will arrive in return for a combined $390 million USD.

“PayPal and Bill Me Later belong together,” enthused eBay president and CEO John Donahoe in an official statement. “We now have a powerful combination of the two leading, complementary online payment products, each with proven benefits for consumers and online merchants.”

According to eBay, the 10 percent loss to its global workforce is in response to slowing growth in Internet sales. In July of 2008, eBay reported its slowest rate of sales growth in a decade after it began selling shares publicly

“While never an easy decision to make, these reductions will help improve our operations and strengthen our ability to continue investing in growth,” added Donahoe.

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