PayPal has shared that it will be reducing its workforce by approximately 9%, according to an announcement on Tuesday. This decision follows a trend among various tech companies, including Amazon, eBay, and others, who have also made staff cuts early in the new year.
In a letter to the staff, CEO Alex Chriss explained the move, highlighting the company’s focus on adopting new technology. He emphasized the need for increased efficiency, the use of automation, and the streamlining of technology to reduce complexity and duplication across the organization.
Last week, eBay announced the layoff of 1,000 employees, constituting about 9% of its workforce, citing challenges in the macroeconomic environment. Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, began the new year by cautioning about potential layoffs in the future. Amazon also revealed plans to cut hundreds of jobs, including positions at Twitch. Additionally, language learning platform Duolingo let go of approximately 10% of its contract workers as it shifted towards a greater reliance on artificial intelligence.
As of Tuesday afternoon, reports indicate that a total of 98 tech companies have laid off over 25,000 employees in 2024, as per data from Layoffs.fyi. Looking back at the previous year, more than 1,100 companies reported 262,595 layoffs, underlining the impact of workforce adjustments across the tech industry.