Online payment firm PayPal is slashing its global workforce by approximately 9 percent this year—amounting to roughly 2,500 job losses—as it becomes the latest tech company to announce layoffs.
The same message was published on PayPal’s official website shortly after the market closed.
Mr. Chriss told employees that the “difficult” job cuts are part of PayPal’s efforts to “build a growth organization” and unlock its “true potential.”
The cuts will “right-size” the tech giant while simultaneously allowing it to “move with the speed needed to deliver” for its customers and “drive profitable growth,” he said.
“During the last few months, I have spent as much time as possible with as many of you as possible to learn about our company’s great strengths, as well as where we need to move faster, where we need to change, and what we need to do to instill a culture of innovation that returns our company to the true position of strength it deserves,” Mr. Chriss said.
Some Jobs to Be Automated
Mr. Chriss noted that some of the job roles within PayPal will also be automated as part of cost-cutting efforts in 2024, which he called the “year of change.”In his message to employees, Mr. Chriss said that PayPal needs to “drive more focus and efficiency, deploy automation,” and consolidate its technology to “reduce complexity and duplication.”
“We have started on that journey, but there is a lot of work to do, and 2024 marks a year of change, including some difficult but necessary decisions to get us to where we need to go,” he said.
Employees set to lose their jobs at PayPal will be notified by the end of the week, according to Mr. Chriss.
“These decisions were not easy to make, and we are undertaking these actions with tremendous care and consideration,” he said.
Employees set to lose their jobs will go through a consultation process, the CEO noted.
“True to our values, we will support our employees’ transitions with the utmost respect, support, and compassion,” he said.
Tech Layoffs Continue
The latest layoffs come as a string of tech firms have already announced cuts to their global workforce this year, including e-commerce giant eBay, which plans to slash 1,000 full-time employees because of “external pressures” and a challenging macroeconomic environment.
PayPal’s fourth-quarter earnings report will be released next week.
