This article is more than 1 year old

Everyone's doing it: PayPal sends 2,000 workers packing

SaaS provider Workday also among those laying off employees

Online payment service PayPal says it intends to cut about 7 percent of its workforce, or around 2,000 jobs, in the latest cull to hit the tech sector.

The Dotcom era veteran said the decision was a result of focusing resources on its "core strategic priorities."

In a statement, president and CEO Dan Schulman said the reductions would happen over the coming weeks, with some organizations affected more than others. "We will treat our departing colleagues with the utmost respect and empathy, provide them with generous packages, engage in consultation where required, and support them with their transitions. I want to express my personal appreciation for the meaningful contributions they have made to PayPal."

The company recruited heavily in recent years to match rapid business growth. It was helped by government lockdowns that forced citizens to stay indoors and shop online instead of in-person.

Paypal's job cuts are just the latest move in an industry-wide trend to reduce workforce numbers following the peak of the pandemic and unsettling economic conditions, exacerbated by high inflation and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Job losses have hit enterprise software too. At the beginning of January, CRM giant Salesforce cut 10 percent of its workforce, or about 7,000 jobs, blaming an overestimation of the employee numbers it needed during the pandemic.

Workday has also made job cuts this week, although the finance and HR software-as-a-service specialist insisted they were not the result of over-hiring. The company plans to "eliminate roles" affecting around 3 percent of its global workforce and the majority of the 525 hit will come from the product and technology organization, the company said in a statement.

"As we navigate this uncertain environment, it's important we help ensure Workday is set up for continued growth for many years to come. This includes continuing to invest in the strategic areas of our business so we can capitalize on the opportunity in front of us; aligning our resources against business priorities; optimizing in certain areas so we can operate more efficiently; and prioritizing to meet customer and market demands," Workday said.

Despite the immediate job losses, Workday says it plans to increase the size of its global workforce over the full financial year.

Other tech giants reducing their workforces include Google owner Alphabet, which axed 12,000 jobs, Microsoft, which cut 10,000, and Amazon, which culled 18,000. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like