eBay plans to cut 9% of workforce as it expects third quarter to beat guidance

eBay plans to cut about 9% of its global workforce, roughly 1,000 jobs, even as it told investors its third-quarter results are expected to land above the guidance ranges it gave in August. The company is pairing better-than-expected numbers with another round of staff reductions, and says the savings will go toward strategic and operating initiatives.

In a Form 8-K, eBay said it announced the restructuring plan on Oct. 20 to align its teams and resources with its top strategic priorities and drive long-term sustainable growth. The company reports earnings on Oct. 28.

The filing puts the cost at $130 million to $150 million in pre-tax charges. Substantially all of it relates to severance payments and post-employment benefits, and the full amount is expected to be paid in cash. Most of the charges will be recorded in the fourth quarter of 2026. eBay expects the employee actions to be substantially complete by the end of the first quarter of 2027, a timeline it made subject to "local law and consultation requirements in certain countries" as well as its business needs.

The company is not freezing hiring. eBay said it will continue to recruit in "priority areas aligned with our strategy," CNBC reported, and The Wall Street Journal carried the same commitment.

This is the second cut of 2026. In February eBay eliminated about 800 jobs, roughly 6% of its workforce at the time. It had about 12,300 employees at the end of 2025, according to CNBC. The reductions extend a pattern: about 500 jobs in February 2023 and roughly 1,000 in January 2024, NBC Bay Area reported.

In an internal memo first reported by Reuters, Chief Executive Jamie Iannone said eBay would simplify operations and shift resources to its fastest-growing areas. "Our strategy is working," Iannone wrote, adding that "continuing to capture the significant opportunity ahead requires us to make thoughtful choices about where we focus and invest." He said affected employees would be told in the coming days. A company spokesperson told AFP that staff were informed of the cuts on Tuesday.

The strategy Iannone is defending has been selective. Since becoming CEO in 2020, he has pushed sales in luxury, refurbished goods and collectibles. Those categories helped lift eBay's shares nearly 40% this year against a roughly 12% gain for the S&P 500, according to Reuters. In July eBay completed its purchase of the secondhand fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy, a deal CNBC valued at $1.4 billion.

There is also an outside audience for cost discipline. In May, GameStop chief executive Ryan Cohen made an unsolicited bid of about $56 billion for eBay, pledging to find $2 billion in cost savings within 12 months of closing and suggesting Iannone's marketing spending was wasteful, Bloomberg reported. eBay rejected the offer as "neither credible nor attractive." The bid is context, not an established cause of the layoffs, but the company now heads into earnings having announced its second headcount reduction of the year.

The filing itself flags the risk on the other side of the ledger. Among its forward-looking cautions, eBay lists the possibility that the restructuring could distract employees and management and hurt "the Company's ability to attract and retain the highly skilled employees the Company needs to support its business." It also warned it may incur other charges or cash expenditures "not currently contemplated" as the plan is carried out.