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.

eBay cutting another 10% of Israeli workforce in fourth round of layoffs | CTech

The shopping giant will lay off a few dozen employees in Israel, with the exact number to be finalized after the hearings.

ctechMeir 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.

eBay Lays Off 1,000 Employees, CEO Says Headcount & Expenses Outpaced Growth

eBay laying off 1,000 employees, about 9% of workforce, as CEO Jamie Iannone says “headcount & expenses have outpaced growth of our business.”

Value Added ResourceLiz 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.