EBay plans to cut 500 jobs, or approximately 4% of its workforce, according to a filing with the SEC. The cuts are aimed at helping the retailer “deliver better end-to-end experiences for our customers” and “support more innovation and scale across our platform,” according to a message CEO Jamie Iannone sent to workers that also was included in the filing.
“Importantly, this shift gives us additional space to invest and create new roles in high-potential areas — new technologies, customer innovations and key markets — and to continue to adapt and flex with the changing macro, ecommerce and technology landscape,” wrote Iannone in the memo.
EBay’s latest results, for the Q3 2022 period ended Sept. 30, saw revenue fall 5% to $2.4 billion while GMV was down 11% to $17.7 billion. The retailer’s performance was better than expected but also served as a sign that eBay still has work ahead before it can achieve positive sales growth.
However, that work already is underway. The company has sought to reinvent itself with a collectibles vault, which is both a physical storage facility and a digital marketplace for trading cards and other high-value collectibles, as well as plans for a digital wallet. Additionally, it has tapped into the trendier side of the resale market by launching a secondhand apparel marketplace in the UK, in partnership with clothing resale, sanitization and repair platform ACS.
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Ebay also is protecting itself and users from fraud through the acquisition of 3PM Shield, an AI-based marketplace compliance solution provider. The deal will enhance eBay’s monitoring capabilities with new technologies designed to prevent the sale of counterfeit items, unsafe products and illegal goods.
“It is a top priority to help ensure that eBay remains a safe and trusted environment for our global community of sellers and buyers, particularly to prevent counterfeits and unsafe or illegal products,” said Zhi Zhou, Chief Risk Officer at eBay in a statement. “3PM Shield has been a valued and effective external partner in helping eBay tackle these challenges and we look forward to unlocking additional capabilities as we bring their technologies in-house.”
