PayPal cites ‘challenging’ economics, says it will lay off 2,000 in coming weeks

PayPal will lay off 2,000 employees worldwide in coming weeks, the company announced Tuesday. File photo by Andrew Gombert/EPA

January 31 (UPI) — PayPal will lay off 2,000 employees worldwide in coming weeks, the company announced Tuesday.

President and CEO Dan Schulman announced the news in a press release, citing a changing world and “competitive landscape.” The online payments service will reduce its workforce by 7%, with more specifics about where the layoffs will occur coming in the next few weeks.

“Change can be difficult — particularly when it includes valued colleagues and friends departing,” Schulman wrote.

“We will face this head-on together, drawing on the unparalleled scale of our global platform, the strategic investments we have made to strengthen our core capabilities, and the trust and loyalty of our customers.”

Schulman said the “challenging macro-economic environment” calls for more change within the company, which he said has made “significant progress” in the past year. That progress came in the form of focusing on core priorities.

Schulman said affected employees will be offered severance packages.

“This will be a challenging period for our community, but I am confident we will come through it together with compassion for each other, our values ​​at the fore, and a shared commitment to the future of PayPal,” he said.

PayPal stock closed up 1.85 points or 2.32% at $81.49. It fell 0.28 points or 0.34% after hours.

PayPal is based in San Jose, Calif., and was founded in 1998. It also has headquarters in La Vista, Neb., as well as locations in Arizona and several more offices around the world.

The service is available in 202 countries and has more than 300 million user accounts.