eBay Makes Quiet Cuts At Israel Research Center, Are More Layoffs On The Way?
eBay has reportedly undertaken another round of quiet cuts to Israel research center workforce as rumors swirl that broader layoffs could be on the way.
Calcalist says about 20 people have been let go in the latest round of reductions at eBay's research and development center in Netanya, representing about 10% of the ~250 member team.
Meir Orbach
The shopping giant eBay will lay off a few dozen employees in Israel, with the exact number to be finalized after the hearings, Calcalist has learned. This is the company's fourth round of layoffs in Israel and is expected to be the smallest, affecting around 20 employees out of its 250-person workforce.
eBay did not respond to Calcalist's request for comment.
While that may seem like a small number of employees, anonymous sites like Blind and The Layoff have also been swirling with rumors that broader cuts may be on the way.
On one post on The Layoff, comments say management in several key areas have been pushing for more cross training and documentation - a move employees suspect could signal a reduction in force could be imminent, similar to supposedly "performance-based" cuts Meta underook earlier this month.
Senior leaders are pushing for documenting everything and making sure people are cross-trained.
It's been eBay's strategy to bump up its stock value temporarily before Q1 evaluation each year. Also, there is a ton of push for documenting, all sorts of stupid and weird meetings with HR, and there was a push for managers to pick the bottom 10% in each team.
Internal Blind posts show there may have been a small number of quiet layoffs in other areas as well, particularly impacting the eBay Ads team, but eBay has not announced anything publicly and there do not appear to be any WARN notices filed by the company recently which would indicate if cuts have been occuring, they haven't been large enough to meet various legal requirements for public reporting.
Past mass layoffs at the company have typically occurred in late January/early February, with eBay usually choosing to break the news before Q4/year end earnings are reported - for example last year's cuts impacting ~1,000 employees were announced on January 23.
Liz Morton
However, it's not unheard of for eBay to make cuts later in the year, like in 2018 when they conducted a round of layoffs in July - resulting in a 10% drop in eBay's stock price at the time.
eBay has not responded to request for comment to confirm the reported layoffs in Israel or any other potential cuts that may be in the works - stay tuned for updates as the company is set to report Q4 and full year 2024 earnings today at 5:00 PM Eastern.
Since I'm really a private seller, meaning I sell very little (I'm not a store that sells privately to avoid taxes), I go to the post office two or three times a week with a few items and ask for Proof of Postage. If Royal Mail loses or breaks an item, I file a claim. So far, Royal Mail has paid every claim I've filed, previously with a bank check and, for some time now, with stamps. When they pay me with stamps, they send me roughly double the value of the loss in stamps. If I sold something for 5 or 6 pounds, they send me eight first-class letter stamps, about £12.80. I use those stamps for second-class large letters (£1.55). I add a note next to the stamp explaining that the stamp covers the value of second-class large letters. And I've never had any problems.
Now everything will be more expensive for the buyer, I'll have to leave eBay.
Can anyone advise me on where to sell online in the UK, and where it'll be effective? Another option is to sell my things as job lots, at very low prices to clear my stock.
I'm sure "Simple" will raise shipping costs for buyers, effectively driving private sellers out of the market with noncompetitive prices. Another problem is that I live in a village and there's only a post office. I won't spend a drop of petrol shipping packages miles away because the buyer chooses another shipping company. And if the option is for the buyer to pay even more to have someone pick up what I sold from my house, it will be impossible to sell. And add to that, having to wait for someone who will come to pick up the package whenever they want. Or will I leave it lying outside the door? Because now the custom is for the delivery person to leave everything lying right outside your door. They don't even ring the bell anymore. And if you're lucky, it's your door and not someone's in another town.