PayPal Layoffs Coming Soon With 2,500 Employees Affected

Key Points:

• CEO Alex Chriss announces a 9% cut, affecting 2,500 jobs, to address competition and profit challenges.
• The PayPal layoffs include eliminating current roles and future job listings, allowing the company to focus on growth and AI tools.

PayPal, under the leadership of CEO Alex Chriss, has announced plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 9%, impacting around 2,500 positions.

The PayPal layoffs, communicated to employees through a letter on Tuesday, aim to “right-size” the company in response to increased competition, profit challenges, and recent analyst downgrades.

Chriss emphasized that the PayPal layoffs would affect both existing roles and the elimination of open positions throughout the year. The affected staff will be notified by the end of the week. This move follows a similar reduction of about 2,000 jobs in January last year.

PayPal Layoffs and Investment in Future Growth

In his memo, Chriss outlined the company’s commitment to invest in areas fostering growth while streamlining operations to enhance efficiency. The PayPal layoffs will extend to current positions and the elimination of future job listings in 2024. The company’s stock has experienced a decline of more than 20% in the past year.

Chriss, who assumed the role of President and CEO in September 2023, recently unveiled plans to launch AI-powered tools, including “smart receipts,” which provide personalized recommendations via email receipts, marking a new chapter for PayPal.

The payment industry has witnessed a series of layoffs recently, with eBay, Google, Amazon, and Duolingo among the companies taking similar actions. PayPal, once a pioneer in the payments sector, faces challenges from competitors like Apple and Zelle.

The decision to reduce the workforce aligns with PayPal’s strategy to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape and prioritize profitable growth. Shares of the company have experienced a decline of more than 20% in the past year, prompting these strategic adjustments.

Recently, PayPal Ventures expressed support for Mesh, a crypto-focused cybersecurity startup leveraging the Ethereum-based stablecoin PYUSD.