San Jose-based eBay is cutting more jobs.
The company confirmed Wednesday it will be laying off about 1,000 employees, or 9% of its workforce.
eBay declined to say exactly who is impacted by the layoffs or which locations the cuts will come from. Some of those questions could be addressed when eBay releases its third quarter financial report in a week.
In a statement to NBC Bay Area, eBay said, “…this step was taken to ensure we continue to operate from a position of strength by aligning our teams and resources with our top strategic priorities.”
eBay made its mark as a massive online auction marketplace, but lately it’s been refining its focus to a place for more upscale merchandise. Its last financial report showed quarterly revenue of over $3 billion and a $552 million profit. But the company has been systematically laying off large numbers of employees – about 500 in February 2023, another 1,000 or so in January 2024, and another 800 this past February.
Creative Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin said the cuts are all about the AI effect.
“AI could do so many of the jobs, especially administration jobs,” he said. “While this is not good news for those who’ve lost their jobs, I’m afraid that this is a part of ongoing strategies with a lot of companies.”
San Jose State University Strategic Management Professor Robert Chapman Wood said AI has created an interesting dilemma in Silicon Valley.
“The thing that is part of a larger issue is what are we doing with this wild new technology?” he said. “It hasn’t yet produced the kind of jobs boom that earlier technologies have produced, and it hasn’t produced the value for the customer that earlier technologies have produced.”