PayPal has confirmed that it will lay off approximately 9% of its workforce, which amounts to an estimated 2,500 employees.
An official one announcement by president and CEO Alex Chriss framed the change as one that would help right-size PayPal to remain competitive in an evolving market, indicating that the company’s growth is not in line with its workforce.
Affected staff will be informed this week, marking a rapid rollout of PayPal’s restructuring plan to streamline costs and improve operational efficiency.
PayPal is laying off another 2,500 employees
This isn’t the first time PayPal has had to lay off employees due to a challenging economy. Almost exactly a year ago, on January 31, 2023, the company announced it would cut approximately 2,000 jobs, representing 7% of its then workforce.
Additionally, PayPal joins a growing list of companies having to lay off workers this year, with the total reaching about 29,000 in January, according to fired.fyi. A total of 262,000 tech industry workers were affected in 2023, while nearly 90,000 workers were laid off last January.
Within hours of PayPal’s announcement, rival company Block also announced a similar 10% workforce reduction, which was responsible for the loss of around 1,000 jobs.
PayPal’s move comes in response to a more than 20% decline in its share price over the past twelve months, from a 52-week high of $88.63 to a January 31, 2024 closing price of $63.76.
Details of the support packages available to staff were not disclosed, but the company did share: “True to our values, we will support our employees’ transitions with the utmost respect, support and compassion.”
Ny Breaking offered PayPal the opportunity to share more context or add a comment, but the company did not immediately respond.