Something can be said for some of these companies. At least they waited until after the holidays to completely make people’s lives miserable, right? Yeah, we’re not letting these C-suite fat cats off the hook that easily. Next up on the chopping block is eBay.
eBay piling on the job losses
Joining the ranks of tech companies everywhere, eBay has decided that it doesn’t want to spend money on keeping 1,000 people employed anymore. This equates to 9% of the company’s full time staff. But they aren’t done. eBay is gearing up to let go an unknown number of contractors “over the coming months.”
Let’s keep in mind that eBay brought in $1.3 billion in profit last quarter. The company called that “another quarter of solid results.” That still didn’t change its mine when yesterday it announced there was a “Need for Change.” eBay’s president and CEO Jamie Iannone wrote “there is more we can due to ensure our success,” and that eBay should be “more nimble” so they can “make decisions more quickly” to positions itself for…wait for it…”long-term sustainable growth.”
This was said after eBay CFO Steve Priest said he was “extremely proud of our teams for delivering on their quarterly financial commitments, maintaining prudent cost discipline, and executing key deliverables in support of our strategy.”
eBay also trotted out the same excuse used by other tech companies about how big the grew in such a small time span.
While we are making progress against our strategy, our overall headcount and expenses have outpaced the growth of our business.”
eBay president and CEO Jamie Iannone
At least in the memo below, eBay said that employees should work from home tomorrow to process the news.
But before I get to that memo, and pardon my language, but what in the actual fuck?! How is it that so many people are without jobs because the powers at be mismanaged the company? Why does it sound like these CEOs gathered in a place and practice their lines? It smells like the Swiss Alps in here.
The fact that these people are getting away with this hurts me so much.
eBay’s Internal Memo
Team,
We are on a path to building a stronger eBay for the future — one that is growing, and resilient in the face of any challenge. Over the past three years, we made fundamental changes in our experiences across categories and accelerated the pace of innovation at eBay. In areas where we’re investing, we are seeing consistent increases in customer satisfaction and a meaningful improvement in our growth relative to the market.
Our strategy is the right one, but there is more we can do to ensure our success. We need to better organize our teams for speed — allowing us to be more nimble, bring like-work together, and help us make decisions more quickly. Today, I am sharing news about changes we are implementing to better position eBay for long-term, sustainable growth.
The most significant and toughest of these decisions is to reduce our current workforce by approximately 1,000 roles or an estimated 9% of full-time employees. Additionally, we plan to scale back the number of contracts we have within our alternate workforce over the coming months. These are not actions we take lightly — and we recognize the impact they will have on all eBayers. We have to say goodbye to people who have made so many important contributions to the eBay community and culture, and this isn’t easy.
The Need for Change
Despite facing external pressures, like the challenging macroeconomic environment, we know we can be better with the factors we control. While we are making progress against our strategy, our overall headcount and expenses have outpaced the growth of our business. To address this, we’re implementing organizational changes that align and consolidate certain teams to improve the end-to-end experience, and better meet the needs of our customers around the world.
Next Steps
Shortly, we will begin notifying those employees whose roles have been eliminated and entering into a consultation process in areas where required. Leaders will communicate the news directly via Zoom, and your VP or eLT member will send an email once the notifications in their group have been completed.
We request that all U.S. employees work from home on January 24th to provide some space and privacy for these conversations. We’re committed to treating everyone with respect and empathy through this transition and providing impacted employees with support and resources.
Looking Ahead
These changes are difficult, but I’m confident that by working together we will become stronger than ever. In the months ahead, you will see a more focused, agile, and responsive eBay — one that is better positioned to advance our purpose of creating economic opportunity for all.
Thank you,
Jamie
Internal memo shared to eBay staff from president and CEO Jamie Iannone
Source: The Verge
