EBay Cuts 1,000 Jobs, 9% of Staff, in Second Layoff Round This Year

EBay is laying off roughly 1,000 employees, about 9% of its workforce, in its second round of job cuts this year, a company spokesperson confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday. The stock market shrugged it off: eBay shares were up approximately 1% Wednesday morning.

The cuts are meant to streamline operations and concentrate spending on the company's fastest-growing areas. As of the end of 2025, eBay employed roughly 12,300 people.

"As we work to capture the significant opportunity ahead, this step was taken to ensure we continue to operate from a position of strength by aligning our teams and resources with our top strategic priorities," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Not every team is shrinking. The company said it will keep hiring in "priority areas aligned with our strategy."

What did the CEO tell staff?

Reuters first reported the layoffs, citing a memo to employees from CEO Jamie Iannone. The memo struck a confident tone even as it announced the cuts.

"Our strategy is working," Iannone wrote. He added: "Continuing to capture the significant opportunity ahead requires us to make thoughtful choices about where we focus and invest."

The memo, seen by Reuters, frames the layoffs as discipline rather than distress — trimming where returns are thin so the company can push harder where they're not.

The takeaway: eBay's leadership sees the cuts as a reallocation, not a retreat.

How does this fit the year's pattern?

Wednesday's announcement is the second round of layoffs at the online marketplace in 2025. In February, eBay cut 6% of its workforce, affecting about 800 employees.

Taken together, the two rounds have removed roughly 1,800 positions — nearly 15% of the headcount the company reported at the end of 2025 — inside a single calendar year. The steady shrinkage has run alongside a parallel trend: eBay has been ramping up spending on artificial intelligence.

In short, fewer people, more AI.

Where is the money going instead?

One concrete answer arrived earlier this year. eBay acquired Depop, the used clothing resale platform, from Etsy in a $1.4 billion deal finalized in July.

Depop brings with it a strong customer base of Gen Z and millennial users — a demographic the legacy marketplace has struggled to win on its own. The acquisition signals where eBay wants growth: younger shoppers, fashion resale, and categories with momentum.

That aligns with the spokesperson's language about "top strategic priorities" and Iannone's call for "thoughtful choices about where we focus and invest."

The takeaway: the Depop deal shows what "priority areas" looks like in practice.

What comes next?

The roughly 1% share gain suggests investors read the cuts as cost discipline, not a warning sign. And with hiring continuing in strategic areas, eBay's total headcount may not fall by the full 1,000.

But the pattern is now unambiguous: two layoffs in ten months, a shrinking workforce, rising AI spending and a $1.4 billion bet on a Gen Z-focused resale brand. The market is betting that formula works; the next earnings report will have to prove it.